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Human Rights Visual Art

Human rights/social justice visual arts

Visual art is a medium of self-expression in today’s society that allows for individuals to share their experiences and voice their opinions. Those who are denied human rights, or those who advocate for human rights, use visual art to express world suffering. According to Amnesty International,  in 2017 the United States was one of the top ten human rights abusers in the world. The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, laws that allow family separation, and permit cheap labor without giving the illegal immigrants any rights (AMNESTY). To think a country so advanced is yet so behind on the moral values for human life, it seems unbelievable. While the vast majority of American society may not be as aware of the significant human rights violations worldwide - there are a few visual art artists who are bring awareness to these specific issues. Banksy, Benny Andrews and Ralph Chaplin are three modern artists who are known for their human rights activism.

“United States of America 2017/2018.” Early Marriage and Harassment of Syrian Refugee Women and Girls in Jordan, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/united-states-of-america/report-united-states-of-america/.

“US Turning Its Back on Human Rights.” Human Rights Watch, 29 June 2018, www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/29/us-turning-its-back-human-rights.

Banksy is a well known street artist who leave his work anonymously and silently across the world in signinfance places at the most crucial times when awareness needs to be raised for a certain cause. The image below is a specific street art work by Banksy is a playful twist on rebellion. It is a great example of how Banksy tries to convey his art to the public - a powerful message through an original, intriguing perspective. The image depicts a young adult man clenching a bouquet of flowers in his fist ready to throw them towards a direction his body is pointing towards. From the aggressive body language of the man, the black scarf across his face, the dark and white contrast of his clothing, it is evident that the bouquet of flowers is completely out of place in this image. It seems as though the man was meant to be holding a spear, rock, gas bomb - a weapon not a heap of colorful, peaceful flowers. The tension and anger on the man’s face also contrasts with the gentleness of the flowers.

The podcast link below also discusses the relation of Banksy's work to political movements and how it relates to other similar movements around the world. The podcast discusses the specific use of graffiti that compliments Banksy's artwork and its motive. The idea behind graffiti art is that it it is just as illegal as the protests behind the movements Banksy is trying to represent. There is plenty of controversy on the topics that Banksy tries to represent. He raises the voices of those who cannot be heard through contrasts of color and darkness. He represents the good and the evil in simple images that send human rights based messages.

(Banksy's street art - Donaghy, Kieran. “Human Rights Street Art.” LinkedIn SlideShare, 27 Oct. 2011, www.slideshare.net/kierandonaghy/human-rights-street-art. )

PODCAST: “The Politics of the Visual 2: Street Life.” Pod Academy, podacademy.org/bookpods/politics-of-the-visual-2/

Benny Andrews is another well known human rights visual artist. Andrews is an African-American artist known for his modern artwork that revolves around human rights. His more modern painting strategies give his art more sophistication that Banksy's street art. The image below is a famous image by Andrews depicting an African-American man standing on yellow land with a simple contrasting blue sky background. In the center of the image the man stands looking at the sky and seemingly crying out in despair. The man is almost expected to be a giant in the image as he stands hunched over as if in pain. The man seems to be African-American as well. He stands barefoot and with no eyes on his face. The artist depicted this specific image this way to represent human right as it takes away from the individualism of the character if the individuals eyes are not showing. The man’s cry out in despair strives to show his suffering and pain, he stands barefoot on the yellow ground in order to show that his feat may be burning on hot floor. The name of the artwork collection this painting is from is also called “There must be Heaven”. This shows that the work of art was created in the African-Americans hope there must as better place they may go to because of the suffering they have endured on Earth.

The video link below is also a description of the civil rights the Andrews artwork wanted to portray. It shows several different pieces that provide a similar message for human rights as the one described above.  

VIDEO: Boondoggle, director. Benny Andrews - in His Own Words. YouTube, YouTube, 27 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9u_35nSgoo

(Benny Andrews image - Cimakh. “The Importance of Art in Human Rights.” UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog, 16 Apr. 2018, cas.uab.edu/humanrights/2018/04/20/the-importance-of-art-in-human-rights/.)

Ralph Chaplin

An example of a historic human rights activist is Ralph Chaplin. The image below is one of his activist work that served to provide hope and advocacy for labor workers. The drawing below is his famous work named “The hand that will rule the world - One Big Union”. In 1917 this clenched fist symbol meant independence for the workers as machines began to take over their jobs and cause job loss for a majority of people. The drawing by Chaplin was a controversial yet popularized image as a white, privileged man stood up for the rights of the people. The image purposefully has the men standing below the industry factories in the distance with the fist rising above them as they unite in order to show that they are stronger together and that their solidarity comes from their union.

(Ralph Chaplin image -  Cimakh. “The Importance of Art in Human Rights.” UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog, 16 Apr. 2018, cas.uab.edu/humanrights/2018/04/20/the-importance-of-art-in-human-rights/.)