Because of people like Banksy, and resources like the internet, many people are picking up the idea of art activism creating their own pieces and displaying them on a public surface. However, many current artists feel that art activism may becom treny and become exploited like manoy other trends before (C100 9). We see this today with many pieces of greaffiti that are pretty useless to the idea of art.
Take this piece for example, found here in Davis. It was made using what seems to be a permanent marker. It portrays Abe Lincoln in a simple, skethcy manner. It is pretty creative in that it is simple and everyone can tell it is Abe Lincoln. But who cares? No one can really understnd the point of putting an outline of Abe Lincol on the side of a dumpster. Its purpose is almost 100 % unknown and this kind of art is what I think art activists today are afraid of.
Now you might think words are the only thing that may effectively express an artists idea, but that is incorrect. Take this stencil done by Banksy himself on the wall that separates Palestine and and Israel. he stencils a picture of a little girl who seems to be floating over the wall to get to the other side. This directly presents his ideas on the neccessity of this wall and the urge many people have to get over it, litterally. he visited Palestine and stenciled this entire wall with many pieces of the same content, from ladders to little windows that make an illusion of viewing the other side.
