Saturday, October 10, 2009

Art vs Propaganda

I have a question for all of you.

What do you think the difference is in "art" and "propaganda"?



19 comments:

  1. art is personal expression. propaganda uses art to persuade those experiencing it to adopt the ideals and thoughts of the artist or the person who commissioned the art.

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  2. I believe art is personal, honest expression of one's experience or beliefs. Propaganda is CCM. Just kidding, but really, I think art becomes propaganda when artistic medium stops being expression and becomes simply a vehicle for a message. It's one of the reasons I hate commercial music. I have some friends that used to be in really good bands. Now they make commercial music. Awesome. Now every time I hear something they do, it's attached to a visual of a car, or a shoe, or some other consumer product. Propaganda.

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  3. I had to look up propaganda... pretty much forgot what it's totally about.

    seems like the first two comments sum of the difference? it's in the motive, right? but how often is the motive truely just personal expression?

    if someone is putting out art publically there is usually a motive to draw in a certain crowd and satisfy what the artist knows about their fanbases/target audiences/whatever general taste. so that's kind of a propaganda, right? I'm thinking more of musicians... so many interviews mention something like "yeah, we've recorded this album and we're just doing what we want and people can like it or not, but it is what it is." I respect a band saying that, but I don't know if I totally buy into it. there has to be some part of their mindset that is wanting to look at a fans perspective and write music that will satisfy what the listener wants.

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  4. I think propaganda is art that portrays feelings of fear and hate to convey ideas while true art conveys portrays a personal expression through love and open conversation.

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  5. Art is something that comes from within you, an exhibition of ideas, feelings or impressions.
    Propaganda is purely commercial, there isn´t art in itself.

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  6. art is an invitation to experience the thoughts and feelings that the artist is experiencing

    propaganda is hijacking art for the purpose of persuasion or to force thoughts/feelings out of people

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  7. Everybody's sayin' something.
    Propaganda is out of control art.

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  8. The difference is subjective, and the two are not mutually exclusive.

    Anyone who says they are making art for art's sake is either making art to advance their idea of "the arts" or simply creating something to please themselves.

    Propoganda is not limited to dictators and tyrants, parties and candidates. We are all trying to advance something that we have subjectively deemed worthy of our efforts.

    Even those who simply want to start a conversation with their art are simply using their talents to create interest in the subject of the conversation.

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  9. I agree with Bekka.

    Art is a form of personal expression, it is not used to persuade, but simply to express how you feel through something other than speech.
    Propaganda is used for nothing more than capturing the attention of the public (sometimes WITH art!) and putting your opinion into the subconscious of others.

    They do share a lot of properties though, its scary.

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  10. art helps remove the blur, the viewer is a little less blind afterwards.

    propaganda, i would think, cares less about unveiling and more about persuasion, and in some way, propaganda banks on a degree of ignorance.

    art cuts across what divides the ignorant from the learned. both are helped.

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  11. They can often be pretty similar. Throughout history, artists have been interested in many of the highly politicized issues that tend to be associated with Propaganda. However, I would say that good Art propagates a question, whereas Propaganda propagates an answer.

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  12. Propaganda's loud. So is art. What's the difference? Propaganda makes your ears bleed, and art makes your heart pound. Propaganda is deliberately flung in your face, while art makes you take a second look. Art isn't a campaign, it isn't trying to sell you something, it isn't trying to win you over... art just is. It's the piano lulling you around the corner for a better listen, not the Hooters billboard looming over the freeway. Art doesn't want anything from you but to be heard; but, in the end, that's not to say it won't evoke something from you - art does that naturally.

    So, the difference to me is in the delivery. Art should grab you, not put you in a stranglehold, send you spam mail, or stalk you around the corner holding up a flashbulb sign.

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  13. when it comes to music (since thats what this blog is mainly about):

    Art is something that has more value than currency can comprehend. It is in a system beyond that. it becomes an experience. what is art to one may be rubbish to another. art in music can touch parts of your soul you didnt even know existed. all of a sudden, a few notes and chords composed together in an original manner have a deeper meaning than pitch and tempo. true art stirrs you in a way that you have never felt before. it stands out above anything else of its kind. i will never forget the exact moment and where i was when i first heard the introduction to "Where The Streets Have No Name". art is retained somwhere inside of us forever.

    Propaganda is self-promoting and selfish. when music becomes propaganda it is no longer about the beauty, instead it becomes about the benefit. profit comes into play both in money and in social gain. if you are trying to get a message across (whether its a good message or a bad one) through propaganda then your message losses credibility because of how we arrived to it.
    "The ends NEVER justify the means"
    -Watchman Nee (emphasis added).

    Even in christian music, if there is propaganda than all we are doing is brainwashing others into thinking what we think. the masses are easily swayed, and many christians take advantage of this through propaganda (some televangelists, unbiblical "christian" music, politicians), so we must never attempt to hybrid art and propaganda because it can't be done. when propaganda comes into the mix it ceases to be art.

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  14. the same difference between a shepherd and a hireling.

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  15. Art-with-a-message, for example some Christian art, isn't necesarily propaganda IF the original intent is allegence to the inspiration. If you start out to convey a message, it can be propaganda if it's portrayed as art. If you are simply being true to inspiration and it happens to be laden with some sort of truth, how very much more awesome, but it is not, in my opinion, propaganda.

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  16. Art gives you freedom to respond however you want to. Propaganda manipulates in order to get a certain response.

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  17. propaganda is not necessarily a negative term, it just usually carries negative connotations. the difference may be in the artist's intent.

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