Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Analytical Essay
Sonny Jaye
13969
AD1109
27/March
Declaration
I hereby declare that I wrote this paper on my own and without the use of any
other than the cited sources and tools and all explanations that I copied directly
or in their sense are marked as such, as well as that the paper has not yet been
handed in neither in this nor in equal form at any other official commission.
……………………………………………….
Date, Place, Signature
Abstract
This study looks at two artists, Alexsandr Rodchenko and Tupac Shukar, who
were from different social backgrounds and differing eras of post 1600 AD,
and attempts to analyse works from their lifetime through cultural and social
influences that played a significant factor in their careers, while also
highlighting any technological advances that may have had any directional
impact on their works. Then there will be a comparison that illustrates any
similarities and or differences that each artist may share between them, finally
a conclusion will be drawn to summarise any significant points that arise
through the development of the paper.
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Table of Contents
Introduction p.4
Conclusion p.12
References p.13
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Introduction
1851-1956
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with the Germans in World War 1 which Russia was grossly ill-
equipped and poorly prepared for, and would concede the biggest
loss of life of any one nation in any war, and also an economic
crisis, and you start to gain a perspective of why such unrest
was in fact present. Amongst all this A. Rodchenko would study
at the Kazan School of Art in Odessa up until 1914 under Nikolai
Feshin and Georgii Medvede, he was to be influenced early on by
Futurism, though short lived, and was to become more
significantly part of the Russian Avante Garde movement.
Russian Avante Garde challenged the very notion of aristocracy
through its works, and was by definition a challenge to the status
quo on structures and beliefs of society at the time, questioning
current thinking whilst posing as a spark to alternative ideology
and being very contrary to the then current social structure of an
Imperial rule, it was a movement very much of revolution, and it
would be revolution and progression that would provide a such
an important platform for A. Rodchenkoʼs career and his works.
Then in 1917 it came, the monarchy was overthrown early on in
the year, and later in the now famous month of October, the
Government fell too, a Russian revolt had succeeded, with Lenin
and the Bolshevikʼs storming into power. Soon after, A.
Rodchenkoʼs would produce what we mostly associate with his
rise to iconic status today.
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was to be a representation of its people “For Rodchenko, design
was not a matter of aesthetics. It was a catalyst for social
change” Southbank Centre. (2008) Further unpinning an ideal of
structure and the bigger task at hand, the constructivists would
not just produce art for arts sake. Again the revolutionary cry is
at the center of the works to be produced by A. Rodchenko and
his comrades of constructivism. They would deliver the message
of a new Russia, with their art, to the masses.
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positions” Southbank Centre. (2008) So what of these works?
Once again when analysing a variety of his collection there is a
clear evidence of the old influences that would again supplement
his works, ways of portraying angles and almost never actually
showing anything head on, and the lines of geometry from his
constructivism past are applied again and still, he finds room for
his closest alley, the revolution, often searching out
opportunities of revolt in the streets and lined orders of soldiers,
or mass groupings of geometrically organised people, this
observation is supported by the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y
which states on its website that “His style of oblique angles
extended into photography the dynamic diagonal compositions of
his early paintings” (Museum of Modern Art, 2010) Take for
instance his Girl with a Leica, 1934 piece, this photograph
depicts all of his customary techniques demonstrating the lines
of geometry, the angle of perspective, use of light to enhance
aesthetics. The only element of his techniques that seems to be
missing is a sign of revolution, though indirectly, you could
conceive the works as a being part of his latest revolution,
photography.
Sadly after Leninʼs death in 1924 and the rise to power of Stalin,
A. Rodchenko and the wondrous army of constructivists employed
under the rule of Lenin were all but banished of their freedom to
influence, and instead were subjected to producing only works
accredited by the new regime which was not at all sympathetic to
the wild works of the past. A. Rodchenko still produced works of
fine credit but the wave of wonder that they the constructivists
had brought was most definitely all but past.
1851-1956
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The Black Panther Party was an organisation formed to combat
the racial discrimination and violence imposed against black
society by the police in America, and would defend the black
community and themselves with the use of force and arms if
necessary in the ghetto areas. This was born in response to
accusations of racial brutality and murder committed by the
police themselves, and would develop to include a list of polices
that were expected to be accepted and implemented, these
demands formed a ten-point program and put forward such
requests as social and political equality for all black people,
retrial of all black institutionalised prisoners, juried exclusively
by black people therefore representative of its own social
background and education, which had formed part of the original
Constitution of America. The party considered these demands as
lawful and realistic, however, they would only encounter
repressive actions against any attempts to substantiate
themselves, despite this, it very much maintained its political
stance, this movement would no doubt bear a strong influence on
T. Shakur himself, who would be surrounded by this as a child.
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Hip Hop was born in America in New York in the Bronx in the
1970ʼs, though its foundation originates from Jamaica, and in itʼs
more recently known state is made up of four elements that
combine together to represent the movement, these are Rap,
MCing, Breakdance and Graffiti. The movement was born of, and
inspired by youths who had felt alienated by the social structure
in America that had often ignored the relevance of its views and
political standing, it would therefore give young people the
opportunity to speak and be heard whilst having a social medium
that represented what they stood for, however what also needs
attention drawn to it is that Hip Hop itself would be influenced by
that, what which it represented. To be more specific, it would
convey much of the gang mentality and violence of urban
American teenage culture, which would create a vicious circle of
exposure to its audience, the artists and its culture. This would
then convey an ever-escalating scale of violence and gang
culture, and T. Shakur would very much end up carrying this
influence in his own persona. Aggression and style had become a
part of the culture, which typified much of what Hip Hop and T.
Shakur would come to represent.
These two movements namely Hip Hop and The Black Panther
Party would influence heavily in Tupacʼs works. His first Album
was to be released in 1991 and would be a runaway success
shooting him to stardom, the album was called 2pocalypse Now,
and when you listen to it, you really get a sense of those early
influences coming trough, with the constant reference to the
police and how the streets would be considered the battleground
of war, between the locals dubbed as ʻsoldiersʼ against the
oppressive ʻpoliceʼ of the state, this very much illustrates his
early exposure to the Black Panther Party and many of the active
revolutionary men & women that Tupac would no doubt of come
into contact with. Songs such as Souljaʼs Story, Violent and
Trapped all very much lead in this direction of opinion, and are
almost direct representations of the message of the Black
Panther movement, it could be considered that Tupac had in fact
become a messenger of a political agenda and was conveying
this message for all to hear, later albums such as Strictly 4 My
N.I.G.G.A.Z. also carried the influences of his early life, and
what also started to emerge and be projected by his works was
the dark and violent side of Hip Hop “as gangsta rap moved from
the margins of Hip Hop culture to the center” Kitwana (1997,
p.31) albums such as Me Against the World, All Eyes On Me and
Thug Life are all very much demonstrate the role and influence
that Hip Hop culture was having on T. Shakur himself, and Young
urban America. This reality of ghetto life and East side, West
side, would grow to become more and more evident as time
moved on.
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Similarities & Differences Between the Artists Works
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perspective to portray his works from. Itʼs very much a case of it
is Art and the study of Art that is his main objective. Along with
this is his movement from one medium to another, new frontiers
of discovery and evolution, they all play a part of his
progressions and are right at the heart of his work, and although
he always seems to be amongst a revolution, he never really
sways away from his main concern, the study and development of
Art.
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Conclusion
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Reference
http://www.artkarta.com/Videos.html
http://www.aworldtowin.net/reviews/Rodchenko.html
http://www.blackpanther.org/TenPoint.htm
http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/russianrev.html
http://www.gov.ns.ca/PSC/pdf/InnovationGrowth/resources/MCP/Developme
ntResourceGuide_2005‐
06/Development%20Resource%20Guide_Conceptual%20Thinking.pdf
Kitwana, B. (1997) ʻWalking the Tightrope: The Art, Reality and
Impact of Tupac Shakurʼ, in Datcher, M. Alexander, K. (ed)
Tough Love the Life and Death of Tupac Shakur. Alexandria, VA:
ALEXANDER PUBLISHING GROUP, pp. 31-33
http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/
http://members.tripod.com/~JJ_Productions/vibe.htm
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National Gallery of Art (2010) Definition: Avant Garde. Available
at: http://www.nga.gov/feature/manet/tdef_avant.htm (Accessed
at: 12 March 2010).
http://www.2pacworld.co.uk/2pacCdReviews.html
http://www.schicklerart.com/exhibitions/aleksandr_rodchenko/mu
seum_series/index.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApantherB.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/4928225/Rodchenko-and-
Popova-at-Tate-Modern-review.html
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