Art can’t stop war or save lives. But, at least at its best, it can change minds. Art can get under your skin, pop into your head when your eyes are closed, and shake you out of complacency. This election season, CULTURED asked a range of artists to pick a work of art that deals in some way with politics and tell us how it has influenced them. They could select a recent work or an older one, something explicitly or implicitly political. The most important qualification was that they chose a work that changed the way they think.
The answers ranged widely. Faith Ringgold proved especially popular; in one delightful coincidence, an artist chose a work by someone who also contributed to our list. In the end, these selections prove that there is no one form of political art, and no singular impact it can have. But its significance in the hearts and minds of artists endures.
Dread Scott
Faith Ringgold, Black Light Series #10: Flag For the Moon: Die Nigger, 1967
"I was first shown Black Light Series #10: Flag For the Moon: Die Nigger in 1988, soon after I had begun to use the American flag in my art. Seeing Ringgold make such a visceral connection between racism and America, and to do so with a text-based work, was great for me. The work is both very direct and simultaneously subtle—many people miss the text and only see the flag that they want to see."
