Affirming the Values of the Oppressed

Affirming the Values
of the Oppressed
When a group of people are oppressed,
their of life and their values tend to be discounted or ridiculed.
To be completely effective, protest movements must not only fight
against unjust oppression, but also affirm the lifestyle of the downtrodden group
to increase cohesiveness and bolster a sense of identity.
Art is an effective tool for doing this.
Art can be a testimony to the rights of people to live free from unjust rulers.
Art can affirm cultural values and reclaim past history,
which can be suppressed by colonization.
Art can affirm stereotypical reactions to different cultures.
Art can affirm identity when one is forced to leave their homeland for fear of persecution.

Francisco Laso (Peruvian)
The Three Races or Equality before the Law 1859

Emancipation poster 1863

Karl Broodhagen
The Emancipation Statue
Bussa from Barbados
1816 slave revolt
1985

Marcus Garvey Rally
Harlem 1924
African Americans gather for rallies and
peaceful protests to stand together and fight
the injustices brought upon them.
Demonstrations in front of Constitutional Hall,
Washington D.C. 1934

Silent Protest March
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP)
New York 1917
The first American to lose his life in the American
Revolution War was Crispus Atticus, a Negro.
Many African Americans owned property and
businesses, yet after the Revolution, when they
died their property and businesses were taken
over by the government rather than being passed
on to their families.

Barber Shop, Harlem
1925
Night Club in Harlem
1934

Diane Arbus
Arbus felt that if she didn’t take these photographs of people who
had been marginalized by society that they would be forgotten.
Young Man in Curlers at Home
on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966
A Naked Man being a Woman
N.Y.C 1968

Diane Arbus
Hermaphrodite & Dog
1970
Blaze Starr in her Living Room
1964

Edward Kienholz
Neo-Realism
Sollie 17
1979 – 80
mixed media installation

Duane Hanson
Neo-Realism
Queenie
1995
mixed media
Museum Guard
1975
Dishwasher
1973
mixed media

Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith
Genesis 1993
Born in 1940 on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Indian Reservation, Montana

Working with the community, hiring young adults who had questionable pasts, as away to
give them a second chance and to become more aware of their community and its history.
Judith Baca / SPARC
The Great Wall of LA
1979-80

Judith Baca / SPARC
The Great Wall of LA
1979-80

Judith Baca
SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center)
Migration of the Golden People 2002