Date of Award
Fall 2014
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Liberal Studies
Advisor(s)
Dr. Susan Libby
Second Advisor
Dr. Ryan Musgrave
Third Advisor
Dr. Patricia Lancaster
Abstract
Abstract: This thesis argues that the artists Swoon, Allora & Calzadilla, and Ai Weiwei rep-resent three approaches to contemporary art drawing on the traditions of street art, performance art, and conceptual art to change our expectations of art, public space, and civil disobedience, challenging the limits of what we know as social criticism and building community. These new and lively ways of making art can be viewed in association with systems of thought like Danto’s work which pro-poses a redefined way of looking at art; and Dewey’s work which emphasizes the importance of an aesthetic experience as a way of engaging the community. Art made in this way inspires the audience to look at things from a different perspective, provides an occasion for the community to unite, and encourages social change.
Recommended Citation
Hasara, Jessica A., "The Role of the Artist as a Social Critic: as Interpreted through the Art of Swoon, Allora & Calzadilla, and Ai Wei Wei" (2014). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 67.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/67
Rights Holder
Jessica Hasara