The Relationship between Politics & Art

One may ask themselves, what do Politics and Art have to do with each other?

Whilst it is not common knowledge, they both progressed from the same objective and
foundation. During this series we will be looking to find out if this was simply a coincidence
or if there is a deeper reasoning behind this.

What gave rise to the idea surrounding a political

system? Why is having this system in place so
important?

Let’s travel back to the 4th Century B.C. and look into
the thoughts of a great philosopher Plato. He was born
in Athens at the height of its power. At the end of his
life which was around 350 B.C. Athens had lost it all.
This means that Plato had seen Athens at two very
important stages, he had seen it rise to the top, and then
witnessed its demise.

Plato has a total of around 31 books, but certainly one of

his most famous ones and also extremely important in regards to this topic is ‘The Republic’
which describes the perfect city state and what it consists of. In the book he answers this
question by conducting a thought experiment.

Imagine living in a world where money doesn’t exist. One can do whatever they wish
without any consequences, whatever I do will not affect you. Unfortunately this is not how
the world actually is, we live in a world with limited resources so there must be rules set in
place which prevent utter chaos from occurring.
This is where politics step in. Why does your vote really matter? If you do not understand
the concepts, the reasoning, why should you decide? Thus politics rose from negotiation by
people who have a grasp on the on goings of the world to decide between competing
interests of the population.

Something else which Plato describes is the following: There was a

man named Gyges who was a slave and worked as a shepherd in the
mountains. Suddenly an earthquake happens and whilst at the
moment all seems seemingly well, whilst he was going around with
the sheep he found a very deep cave. Inside of it there was a burial
chamber and then a giant skeleton the size of the entire chamber
wearing a similarly big ring on his finger. When Gyges put on the
ring it shrunk to fit his finger and a miracle happened, he turned
invisible.

Plato says what would a typical person do with that sort of power?
Will they succumb to human nature? What is their innate self, are people intrinsically evil
or are they altruistic?

For the Greeks: 431 - 404 / 3 B.C. (Peloponnesian War) This was a civil war where the state
split into different factions. An important figure during this time who had contrasting
thoughts with Plato is Thucydides. In 429 B.C. Athens is being besieged. At the moment an
epidemic is occurring and the general sees pure chaos in the city. He believes that politics
prevents us from giving in to our sinful desires. On the other note Plato believes the
opposite due to the civil war which happened. So, they both wish to prevent statis but they
have varied views on how this should be done.

There are other prominent philosophers regarding this topic apart from those in ancient
Greece of course. Two main philosophers which had prominent ideas regarding the state
are Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Starting with Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), this man similar to Thucydides was also alive
during a civil war. In his opinion human beings were driven by simply pleasure and pain.
That human beings are individualistic and thought only of themselves. They only focus on
fulfilling their own personal desires with no care for the rest. Human beings in such a world
end up at the mercy of the state of nature.

He says “Homo homini lupus” meaning man is a wolf to

another. People without a society all have the same aims,
all wish pleasure for themselves and thus are constantly
in competition with each other. The ‘State’ is simply a
product of reason that we have been endowed. It is a
rational escape from the dangerous ‘State of Nature’. All
it is a social contract where one gives up some of their
own free will for the good of the population, for the
good of themselves so rather than constantly focusing on
themselves, they cannot simply do as they wish, they
must work together in cohesion

Whilst you are giving up free will in a sense, you are

gaining it in another. Some say in fact that a mad tyrant
is better than the true self of the state of freedom. This is
where he proposed Leviathan, what he says goes as law. The state as we know it today is a
form of monarch, it is an alliance between the population of the world. We give away some
freedom in exchange for security from each other. The state has a coercive power which
prevents you from stealing, commiting murder… Although as we know, even in a state
human beings are still selfish.

Then there is Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778). He is often contrasted to Hobbes due to
their opinion on how people are and therefore how the state is since people are in a general
sense the state.

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains'' The basic instinct of man is our empathy, our
sympathy, ‘sym’ meaning ‘together’ facing our own battles as a cohesive group, pathos
meaning pain, when you see another person suffer and deep inside of you feel some of their
pain yourself and suffer alongside with them. There is actual physiological evidence which
does prove that this theory has actual proof behind it and not simply nonsensical workings
of the brain. Although pity has a very similar definition, it has a negative connotation whilst
sympathy carries a positive connotation.

Human beings wish to help each other so that they all may avoid pain and suffering. The
issue is that this is often not the case of what truly happens. In general not all of the
population is similar to hippies, working as a group and living happily together. We know
this too even due to what is happening in the world at
the moment with Hamas having launched rockets into
the Gaza Strip, having kidnapped and murdering
civilians. War happens and terrible deeds are done on
both sides, no side is completely innocent and due to the
state we are not able to give in to the deep compassion
that there is within us and aid all the world.

In his opinion the root of evil is society, it is that which

corrupts us. It is society which makes us turn on each
other. The second that society started to form based off
of rival property, the second that the ideology was
formed we started to chain each other, prevent each
other from giving in to our true peaceful wishes. ‘This is mine’ in a peaceful world, no one
owns anything and everyone aids each other. Although it seems far-fetched it is said that
this is still a possibility to arrive in the future, we simply haven’t used our reason enough to
formulate such a society where no is judged or has preconceived notions. Thus the state is
what corrupts us, turns us against each other. A good society educates, allowing people to
fulfil their potential, it allows you to express your true self with no boundaries.

Although their ideas seem so different at first

glance, they do have some commonalities in
between them. For both the state is something
artificial, man made. In both cases we see how
man is individualistic and in the end of the day
focuses solely on themselves. They both give
reason a fundamental role in each of their theologies. Both personas were alive in a period
of history called ‘The Enlightenment’.

Past Paper (2021)

Authoritarian regimes tend to have a tight grip and control on artistic production. Discuss
how artistic production is a means of sustaining or undermining political powers. By
making reference to ONE work of art, show how art is used to promote these powers; and
by making reference to ONE another work of art, show how art is used to criticise political
powers.

Roman Sculpture

Proof:- Art and Politics have a deep relationship with one another.

i) When a political system changes art also changes.

i) Republican Statue (1st BCE)

- During Democratic Rome when Senators (mostly old men) were the most important
people in the society. They believed that the most important thing was wisdom and
that came in turn with age.

ii) Military Dictatorship (32 BC)

- Augustus di Prima Corta -> He wants to show that he is almost a god by depicting
himself as a sort of Greek Hero.

The Art goes from realistic to idealistic. The art changes to reflect on the change of the
political system.

French Painting: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism

- This is the art of the French Revolution. What it wants to promote is revolutionary
republican values. They portrayed the morals that were held in high regard, yet also
 used as a sort of propaganda. It showed patriotism, people fighting and dying for
their country.
- France was in a lot of wars after the French Revolution so they needed to loop
people into joining the war effort and fighting.

Positive Relationship (Art Serving Power)

a) Propaganda (Deliberate)
i) Attempting to influence and change minds and society.
ii) Reverence / Loyalty to a leader.
1) E.g, Augustus of PrimaPorta
2) Soviet Posters of Lenin(1920s)
3) David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801)
iii) Reverence / Loyalty to a system.
1) Art depicting positive imagery of systems such as Communism.
2) Nazi Art -> Two Museums: Museum of Germanic Art and the
Museum of Degenerate Art(Cezanne who symbolised rebellion and
individualism etc…it was a form of public shaming) (Video on Khan
Academy)
b) Reflecting Power (Not Deliberate)
i) Reflects society as it is (already existing power structures)
ii) Patronage
1) Who is paying for the art? Who is consuming the art?
2) Before the modern period, only the upper class were able to go and
view the art.
3) Art tends to reflect the values of the upper class (the people in charge)
this is because they were the ones who were paying and were using the
art.
4) Archaic Kouros (c. 6th Century BCE) - This man is a military
aristocrat. He gets his status from fighting, so in his statues he puts the
values which he believes are important. He is young, he is lithe etc.
5) Fragonard, The Swing (1767) Rococo Art - Aristocratic woman, she
emphasises the fact that she is rich with the paintings having bright
colours and fluffy dresses. The blue hue is a crushed gemstone and
thus it shows even more how powerful she is.