Skip to content

JA5. The Visual Arts as a Medium for Public Messages

Statement

Referring to resources listed in the Reading Assignments throughout the course, please address the following.

  • Do you think the visual arts are still as useful to convey messages to the public as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries? Explain your answer.

Answer

Art was always the mirror of society, reflecting the values, struggles, achievements, and emotions of the time. The visual arts were exceptionally strong in conveying messages, as it grabbed the attention of the viewers and made them wonder about the message behind the artwork. The 18th and 19th centuries were very dynamic periods in history; they were times of political revolutions, moving towards civil and secular societies, industrial revolutions, and the rise of the middle class.

Artists like Jacques-Louis David, Francisco Goya, and Eugène Delacroix used their art to convey messages of liberty, revolution, and the horrors of war. The visual arts were a powerful medium to reach the masses and influence their thoughts and actions. The limited options for mass communication made arts’ influence more localized, but also more impactful as there was little competition for attention (Cramer et al., 2015).

Today, the visual arts are still a powerful medium to convey messages to the public. However, the context has changed. With the advancement of technology, the vast array of options to receive visual arts, and the rise of the internet and social media made it harder for the visual arts to stand out; let alone make an impact.

The types of visual arts are now different; with only paintings, sculptures, and prints available in the 18th and 19th centuries, today we have photography, film, music, social media videos, and even AI-generated art. This relatively low cost and easiness of generating and accessing visual arts made it available to everyone, but it also made it harder for artists to stand out and make an impact. Today, we see traditional art exhibitions almost empty, while social media platforms are full of visual arts.

In the fiercely competitive environment of today, artists who find more support are the ones who can make it; but it is usually a quid pro quo from the sponsor who may be a political party, a corporation, or a wealthy individual. This makes it harder for artists to convey their messages freely and independently and puts us where we were in the Middle Ages, where patronage was the only way to make art.

To compare the effectiveness of visual arts in the 18th and 19th centuries with today, we need to consider the number of available artworks, which is much more today, which makes the impact of each artwork less, although the overall impact of visual arts is more significant today than it was in the 18th and 19th centuries. Also, the number of artists and topics covered in visual arts is much more today, this reduces the impact of each single artist and the message they convey (LinkedIn, 2024).

To conclude, the visual arts are still a powerful medium to convey messages to the public, but artists and viewers should adapt to the new environment, discourage affiliated and tampered with art, and encourage independent, free, and genuine art. While, the range of topics covered in visual arts, the number of artists, and the number of artworks are much more today, the overall impact of visual arts is less significant today than it was in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Word Count: 524.

References

‌