A movement born of a moment to address a moment in time

Art and politics have a symbiotic relationship. Art has a power that influences and determines public perceptions of political figures and events, and politics has a power to influence and determine the content and message conveyed in art. Consider David's "Napoleon Crossing the Alps," Goya's "The Third of May 1808," Picasso's "Guernica," Fairey's "Hope." Even artists who present a subject simply for their appreciation of its beauty, like Subhankar Banerjee's photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, can have a decidedly political message, which became evident when his exhibit at the Smithsonian was scaled back and moved from a prime location in the gallery to a back hallway off the cafeteria after his book was wielded on the floor of Congress by a congresswoman who opposed drilling in ANWR.

Artists whose work addresses explicitly political material can suffer for their depictions of potentially sensitive events and subjects. In 2004, an artist named Guy Colwell exhibited his painting, "Abuse," which depicts the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US forces, at a gallery in San Francisco. The gallery owner was physically assaulted and Cowell went into hiding in order to avoid harm. A campaign of threat and harassment eventually closed the gallery permanently. So much for the 1st Amendment, one of the main tenets of American freedom that is ostensibly being defended in the several wars in which we're embroiled. Irony.

Recently, a group of US artists organized art exhibitions around the country that respond to "the radical shift in politics and governmental policy in America that has come about in recent years." More than 50 shows were organized across the US. Although the exhibits were scheduled to take place before the election, The Art of Democracy continues its work in varying ways, with interesting guerrilla efforts like Max Infield's "To be returned: underrepresented people in picture frames," in which he purchased frames at Wal-Mart and inserted photos of people who are "underrepresented in the language of Wal-Mart's low prices" and returned them for a cash refund, after which they would be replaced in the frames section. There will be an exhibit at the Red Door Gallery in San Francisco beginning the day after Obama's inauguration called The Art and the Body Politick that focuses on "how the creative visions of artists can help heal our collective body and ensure that healthy debate and diversity continue to be the hallmark of American democracy."

During his campaign, Obama, to an unprecedented extent, pledged to support the arts through everything from increased support for arts education and the National Endowment for the Arts to changing the federal tax code for artists. This is welcome and heartening news, and I hope that he will follow through on his promises. While he should not be exempt from perhaps unflattering representations, he is to be praised for recognizing the important role art plays in a healthy democratic society.