Confrontation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Confrontation - Essay Example Be it the pure arts or humanities, criticism has always been there to point put any deviations from and contradictions to the ideologies and moralities, and the sets of rules, established by the actions of the people. This effort can be traced back to Aristotle, when he, in his Poetics, put forward the theory of literature that offered positive criticism to the literary works. Or the ideology of Karl Marx, called Marxism, for instance, objected to the sociopolitical conditions and offered an alternative method of approach that not only affected the social sciences, but even artists and literates grabbed on to the philosophies proposed by him. Flash forward to the recent exhibition, Art of Confrontation, and it is apparent that the struggle is far from over. In the humanities, the critical social theory, or the critical theory for short, has had an evolution, from two distinct origins and fields_ namely the literary theory, that proposes criticism purely in the arts and literature, and the social theory of criticism, that examines and analyses sociopolitical practices_ to the recent more overlapping critical social theory that combines the two fields and tries to provide a better and deeper understanding of society by incorporating all branches of humanities. Ultimately, the goal is to mold society according to the principles of Enlightenment, and to pursue it. Similarly, artists have for long seen it as their role as social scientists, and have produced work that has criticism and progression as its basis. Culture is by the people, for the people, and this medium, when tapped, can have amazing affects on the lives of the people. Sculptures, paintings and other form of art, even literature, can forever capture the thinking, feelings, and issues of the people of their time for future generations to study and learn from. As is said, it bears testimony. It stands as a reminder of the struggles of the people and their aspirations, and can send strong waves of renaissance and reform. Sometimes it has political shades to it and sometimes it provides a parallel medium to view issues, with a new light, leading, however, to the same goal_ Enlightenment. This form of art has come about to be known as critical art, and together, critical social theory and critical art, both high culture and mass culture, aim to propagate the acquisition of critical k nowledge to instill in individuals a sense of psychoanalysis and self-reflection so that society as a whole can emancipate itself from all forms of oppression, vice and domination. The underlying agenda of all activist movement has always been human rights, and the dignity and freedom that is associated with every individual. War,