Andrean High School. "Exhibit planned at art center : Chesterton News." nwitimes.com. Times Staff, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/chesterton/exhibit-planned-at-art-center/article_0bdd15d2-aaf9-5aa2-958a-84f853f3ea1a.html
The inter-reliability between art and, culture through the course of civilization has been immense. Art has played some defining roles in the course that the human race has responded to situations by either perpetuating existing perceptions and ideas or by promoting a new way of doing things and approaching situations. Art has also found immense in its primary use as a form of entertainment, where communities appreciative of art visit galleries and marvel at the various artworks in display. Flexibility of art in its interpretation, and in some cases definitions of constant themes makes it amenable to a myriad of situations through generations. This paper seeks to explore the impact of art both present and ancient, its use in contemporary society and application in the advance of causes by evaluating a recent article on the subject. The theme inter-relating the relevance of art to our common circumstances shall be food.
The article I chose concerns itself with Indiana art exhibit which shall be hosted in the Chesterton Art center. I stumbled upon this article on the internet as I was searching for a suitable article that shows the relevance of art in common themes pertinent to our ordinary lives such as food. The art exhibit shall revolve around the Indiana theme where each project flows unto the mother in what the article describes as a ‘Stream of conscious style’ (Andrean H.S, par 2). The introductory art studied were the lakeshore National posters, where the students got a chance to digest aspects of graphic design, advertising, design and fine art in the single image.
The other events students participated in included a delving into pop culture by evaluating and interacting with the works of artists such as Robert Indiana. The wok which gathered my attention, however, and which introduces the relevance of the exhibition to the theme of food is the work of renowned American pop artist Andy Warhol. The famous soup of can imagery used in Andy Warhol’s works was evaluated. The exhibition linked the work of Andy Warhol on how artists can utilize their skills in the advancement of causes within the community. The Andy Warhol soup of cans imagery originated from his depiction of Campbell’s soup cans in his artwork. His use of the soup cans in his art was a foreign idea to artists at the time. Art was strictly restricted from depicting commercial messages, and leaned heavily towards abstract expressionism (Raczka, 98-99). However, Andy Warhol raised his reputation as the founder of popular art by depicting scenarios that the masses could easily associate. Pop art is heavily relevant today finding use as marketing tools for different products. The soup cans depiction by Andy Warhol indicates the relevance of food as a contemporary subject and how it affects artistic expression. Andy Warhol, when interviewed on the reason behind his use of the soup cans in his work, his response was simple and, ‘I have been eating them every day for the last twenty years’ (Raczka, 98-99)
The progression on how art is useful in society was demonstrated by the exhibition where the students went on to discuss how art can be used as a tool to instigate social causes. The students were involved in a drive that collected canned food from the school and donated to a local pantry. The use of Andy Warhol’s work on canned food imagery led to the instigation of a movement beyond art into philanthropy. This shift is explainable by the war art makes people feel good about themselves. A society that is keen on art is traditionally seen as advanced and prosperous. While the enjoyment of any of the arts requires contentment, the use of art can, therefore, be used to motivate charitable causes aiming its patrons. Warhol’s imagery celebrated food is due to its plenty and availability. A patron of this work would wonder if there were people in society who did not enjoy this plenty, thus leading to initiatives aimed at helping them. Further, Andy Warhol’s pioneering work in the field of pop artistry and pop culture presently is vilified as food has become one of greatest themes of pop-culture and pop artistry. Food themselves nowadays are prepared in artistic depictions with an example being sushi, where the chefs are at liberty to express themselves in its preparation and presentation various attractive ways. The acceptance of food themes into pop art is evidenced by CAAMFest, (Center for Asian American Media), held in March this year in San Francisco. The festival celebrates Asian-American pop-culture. Renowned Hawaii chef, Alan Wong, presented his affinity for food cultures alongside other artistic works ranging from films, such as Grace Lee Boggs, documentary, and other artworks (Christie’s, par 6).
The expansion of art in the 21st century has allowed artistic expression in more diverse ways than ever before. Food has found a prominent place in the common mind of artists and depictions centering on the food theme continues to arouse interest and reaction from the population of art enthusiast to the artists themselves. The incorporation of food into art proves the boundless nature of art, and its great potential in uniting individuals for common causes by the universality of its language.
Works Cited
Andrean High School. "Exhibit planned at art center : Chesterton News." nwitimes.com. Nwi.com, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/chesterton/exhibit-planned-at-art-center/article_0bdd15d2-aaf9-5aa2-958a-84f853f3ea1a.html .
Christie's. "Andy Warhol's Campbell’s Soup Can (Tomato) | Post-War and Contemporary Art | Special Feature | Christie's." Christie's Auctions & Private Sales | Fine Art, Antiques, Jewelry & More | Christie's. Christies, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. http://www.christies.com/features/2010-october-andy-warhol-campbells-soup-can-tomato-1022-1.aspx
Raczka, Bob. Unlikely Pairs: Fun with Famous Works of Art. Minneapolis, Minn: Millbrook Press, 2006. Print.
