Controversial Art and Learning Theories

Learning Theories and Controversial Art in the Classroom

Piaget: 
Piaget is a learning theorist who suggests that student’s progress in a universal pattern of cognitive development that all students’ progress through based on independent exploration (experiment), learning goals based on child’s readiness (curriculum documents) and new experiences (active participation).  Piaget states that learners won’t be successful if the learning is too complex (teachers required to scaffold) and that learning should be independent and discovery based with peers as the agents of change  (collaborative and inquiry based model). Lastly, Piaget suggests that individual differences should be accounted for (modifications and accommodations)  

Vygotsky:
Vygotsky is a learning theorist who believes that development varies across culture and is affected by social interactions with adults who create change. Activities to promote learning should be crafted to current ability set (curriculum) with the adult (teacher) guiding participation and instructions before the learner gradually takes more control of learning (scaffolding learning through guided practice, gradual release and independent practice opportunities). Lastly, Vygotsky’s research indicates that co-operative learning benefits both skilled and less skilled learners (mixed ability groupings). 

As much as I thoroughly believe that a combination of both learning theories create the best learning situations in a classroom, specifically when learning about and creating Art, based on the fact that we know that Controversial images can cause just that, a controversy, it seems Vygotsky's theory takes into account learner's cultural sensitivities and focuses on creating a safe space for students. We know that to fully engage and uncover knowledge in an age appropriate and safe way when dealing with controversial, nude and violent images the teacher must take all ethical precautions and prepare students accordingly. Since Vygotsky's method focuses on more activities which are created and promoted by the teacher who ensures that students are supported throughout the learning opportunity through guided participation, it seems that is is more ideal for students to feel more comfortable and successful when discovering difficult topics, such as controversial art.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
This image is a healthy reminder that in the Art classroom, all of the stages of Bloom's Taxonomy blend and connect but that our focus as Art instructors should be on getting students to create based on understanding, remembering, applying, evaluating, analyzing and evaluating art information.

Violent Art In Classroom

The title: Reading Violent Images

Author: Gaye Green           

Date: March 2004

Link for the Article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3194109

http://www.jstor.org.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/stable/pdfplus/3194109.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true-accessed July 16^th 2014

Synopsis (retell):

Green, a former elementary Art Teacher and Art Specialist who currently holds a Doctor of Art Education title at Western Washington University highlights the importance of exposing children to violent images in the Art Classroom in her article, ‘Reading Violent Images’. Using a combination of psychological statistics and reflecting on her own experiences working with students and violent images/topics, she stresses the relevance of teaching students to become critical consumers of violent visual and artistic media forms based on the sheer volume of violent images in society and the direct link they share with current Art curricula.

Green states that not only do violent images stir personal emotions and affect the subconscious mind (summarizing studies from the 1990’s which proved that viewing violent imagery can lead to crime, violence and increased aggressive behaviours), they are especially significant within society. Often times cultures, remember events through images and sometimes these images are emotionally or historically heavy (the example she used in the article is Nick Ut’s photograph of the nude Vietnamese girl running from a napalm bomb during the Vietnam War or art based war memorials). She does an excellent jobs of drawing conclusions about why classroom teachers struggle to plan or do not provide time for students to evaluate violent images within the classroom. She cites key reasons are simply deciding which violent images to study with students is a daunting task as millions of images that exist as they come in many mediums (newspapers, periodicals, internet or magazines) and that images often raise debates and controversy causing teachers to feel overwhelmed in both volume of images and criticism of their use within the classroom.

Green suggests that teachers evaluate and examine violent images with students based on what they feel the intended purpose was. She recommends students be directed to six categories, which are commonly used by producers (Glamorization and Celebrity, Minimization, False Justification, Trivialization, Desensitization and Misrepresentation). However, she cautions that some images are easy to identify their primary function while others represent several concepts.

Green suggests several ways to overcome the challenges of appropriately exposing students to violent images in Art Class. She suggests teachers can present violent or controversial images to students in two ways. The first, provide an image with a corresponding category and have students defend if they agree or disagree with the category the image has been placed in. The second, present students with multiple images and ask them to categorize them and defend their position and opinion to their peers.

Perhaps the biggest take away point of this article is that Green stresses through proper scaffolding and teacher support, students can begin to realize that anger is a contributing factor toward violence and that many artists constructively channel the creative art process to express their outrage and demonstrate to children that art is an effective way to deal with angry emotions. “The utility of art education to address powerful issues, generate meaningful analysis, and provide compelling instruction demonstrates the educative value that the study of such potent imagery can facilitate. The impact of instruction that employs both inquiry and production processes teaches children to constantly question, evaluate and address that which they see. Such pedagogy not only validates the importance of art education, but also demonstrates its indispensability.”

Relate:

I believe this article had many connections to our group’s specific inquiry focus.

What constitutes controversial art?  Does the nude figure contribute to the work of art being considered controversial? Are controversial artworks from the past still considered controversial today?

I would argue, based on the data included in this article about the long-term effects of exposure to violent images that violent art should be considered controversial. There were also many statistics showing an increase in violent images in current media and modern art creations. (Elsi Vassdal Ellis’s letters to terrorist Mohamed Atta “Dear Mohamed Atta”, 2003, Picasso’s “Guernica”, Eric Fischl’s “Tumbling Woman”, Kellan Robert Green’s drawings of Homer Simpson Strangling Bart were all controversial violent pieces Green mentions in the article.)

What is it about the artwork that creates a great deal of controversy amongst fellow classmates, parents, staff and school administrators? Is there hate material, propaganda or subliminal messaging that is found to be offensive to others in the piece?

Green provides a chart page 9 of the article that provides a structured framework for Evaluating Violent Imagery. This framework could be adapted/extended to all ‘controversial images’. It calls the evaluator/analyzer to consider five key areas to decipher the information contained in the controversial art work. It could be used as a supportive/guiding tool for students beginning to analyze Art History and Controversial Images.

Methodology for Evaluating Issues Raised by Violent Imagery

Image Context: How is this image different from or similar to other images within

its particular genre/ movement/ style? What makes this particular image significant for interpretation?

World Contexts: Which world realms such as sociological, Historical, psychological, aspects of interpretation can facilitate political, scientific, Geographical, Religious, literary, etc. could provide pertinent information for interpretation? What resources are needed to conduct research into these areas? How will the information garnered be evaluated for significance and accuracy?

Image Creator:  Are there writings/interviews of the artist that provide information regarding the work? Are the creators' views supported by the image? Do the general public, historians, critics, and/or other viewers agree with the creators' views? Do these individual perceptions correspond with those of other groups? Is there pertinent information regarding the creators' background, beliefs, experiences, up bringing, etc. that might influence the making and subsequent viewing of the image?

Image Content and Form: What is contained in the image? How was the image constructed? How does the content and form of this image compare with others that ares imilar? Which elements and principles of design contribute to the significance of the image?

Viewer: Consider the ramifications of individual viewers. Is there pertinent information about the viewer that influences the viewing ,i.e. religious beliefs, political affiliation, gender, and economic status?

I would say this article relates to both my experience as a student and as a teacher. I don’t recall a time where I was asked to critically analyze art work or if I was, it would have only been surface features or techniques the artist used. I think this is the reason why I have not necessarily done this type of work with my students thus far. I think additionally, there are not many “controversial” images which would be appropriate or draw a healthy discussion within the primary classroom that I am aware of.

This article’s content is directly related to the work we did last module on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Bloom’s Taxonomy requires that learners be able to critically evaluate and generate opinions based on the knowledge and understanding they have in a particular content area. Green’s methods for students to categorize controversial images into categories and defend their reasoning with support as well as time to both deconstruct existing controversial images combined with classroom time create personalized reconstructions exemplifies the ideal balance between expressing feelings about events and creating to memorialize events.

Reflect:

Something I thought about while reading the article is that I understand why teachers feel a lot of pressure to choose images carefully because we want to be sensitive to our students but also because research shows that exposure to violent material can have lasting psychological and behavioural effects.  I understand that there is a lot of value in having students critically evaluate violent images but perhaps a “next step” or an area which needs to be studied further is which images are appropriate for which age groups?

Additionally, perhaps included in the Art curriculum document there should be exemplars of not only student work for assessment purposes but also ways to inform parents that a controversial issue is going to be discussed and viewed in class. Since one of our goals for this Collaborative assignment is, “Students will examine specific examples of controversial artwork in the Art History curriculum, both historical and contemporary works, to make connections between art and social upheaval. Students can understand why works are controversial or were considered controversial within the context they were created.” An additional area of the reflection could be to discuss why parents had to be informed the class was studying a certain topic. Being able to not only evaluate the controversial piece from a historical point of view but also showing an ability to demonstrate how to appropriately deal with the controversy in today’s society is extremely valuable skill related to higher order thinking and critical inquiry. 

I think it is interesting that Green shares her “best practices” for presenting violent images in the classroom setting as well as student examples from these activities. A common thread that keeps resurfacing in course discussions and readings is how rushed Art production and discussions are in the classroom. Since classrooms are busy places with lots to accomplish, we, as teachers feel Art is something we have to “fit in” and often, our rushed timelines don’t do it justice. Perhaps one of the reasons we don’t ‘do art justice” is because we are thinking about get students started on a project, giving them time to create and reflect so we can assess. Thinking about pressured timelines and the constant end goal of assessment, the analysis of images in the classroom is often on the backburner. I think Green poignantly states that time is one of the key reasons teachers struggle with analysis of controversial pieces in the classroom and it often does not have and immediate assessment as student’s skills develop over time and as they are exposed to and make connections with different pieces. “Evaluating images that relate to violence is a lengthy endeavor and one whose process is not primarily about securing answers, but rather about engaging in the complexity of inquiry. Teaching students to consider many aspects of interpretation can facilitate informed responses and is a lifelong skill that can be used to analyze images in a variety of contexts.” 

Violent Art in the Classroom Lemon,Heart, Home Critique Scheme

“The utility of art education to address powerful issues, generate meaningful analysis, and provide compelling instruction demonstrates the educative value that the study of such potent imagery can facilitate. The impact of instruction that employs both inquiry and production processes teaches children to constantly question, evaluate and address that which they see. Such pedagogy not only validates the importance of art education, but also demonstrates its indispensability.” – Green, 2004

Studying Violent or Controversial Art in the Classroom

The following lesson plan has been developed to incorporate current literature which both discusses the dangers and the purpose of using violent imagery in the Art classroom to help students develop higher level thinking skills and become conscious consumers of all media.

What do we know about exposing students to violent images?

Since we know exposing children to violent images has long-lasting effects on well-being (exposure has been shown to increase crime, violence and aggressive behaviours), some would say it is never appropriate for teachers to share violent images in class. In her article, “Reading Violent Images”, Gaye Green argues that the Art classroom is the perfect place to expose children to violent images. She suggests that the Art classroom is a safe place because there is an instructor who is whose purpose to provide students with a guided opportunity to deconstruct, make meaning and build skills needed to become a critical consumer of all media.

Who struggles with violent images?

Green points out that some teachers opt not to show students controversial images in their classes despite being aware of the benefit of doing so. Some of the more popular reasons cited were the sheer volume of images making it difficult for teachers to determine which images were “best”, some teachers felt uncomfortable with talking about the controversy with their administration and student’s parents while others felt they lacked the art history knowledge to professionally tackle a controversial theme.

One additional struggle for teachers is that critique often takes place in the classroom during discussion and it is difficult to assess and provide authentic feedback to students on ways to improve as well as track their skill achievement over time. Teachers need to provide students opportunities to not only critique works but also find creative ways to assess their skills and skill growth.

What methods do we know are effective?

Based on Green’s research, she suggested that controversial or violent images that are introduced in the classroom could categorized into one of six common themes based on what the viewer perceives the artist’s intended purpose was.

-       Glamorization of a celebrity

-       Minimization

-       False Justification

-       Trivialization

-       Desensitization

-       Misrepresentation  

  

Green’s research also indicates that teachers expose students to violent images in one of two ways.

The first method involves giving students a chance to view a violent image and telling them which category it fit into and asking them to discuss and defend if they think the image has been categorized correctly.

The second method requires the teacher to present the students with multiple images and ask them to categorize he images into their corresponding themes and defend their opinions to their peers.

Both methods require modelling, scaffolding and teacher support.

If we know there is risk involved, what enduring learning outweighs that risk?

The enduring understanding that art teachers who are using violent or controversial images in their classrooms should aim to have students understand that anger is the contributing factor in producing violent artwork. Throughout history, many artists have channeled their anger via the creative process and have used art as an effective way to both deal with their anger and express their emotions about a certain topic.

What makes art controversial?

Green provides a chart page 9 of the article that provides a structured framework for Evaluating Violent Imagery. This framework could be adapted/extended to all ‘controversial images’. It calls the evaluator/analyzer to consider five key areas to decipher the information contained in the controversial art work. It could be used as a supportive/guiding tool for students beginning to analyze Art History and Controversial Images.

Methodology for Evaluating Issues Raised by Violent Imagery

Image Context: How is this image different from or similar to other images within

its particular genre/ movement/ style? What makes this particular image significant for interpretation?

World Contexts: Which world realms such as sociological, Historical, psychological, aspects of interpretation can facilitate political, scientific, Geographical, Religious, literary, etc. could provide pertinent information for interpretation? What resources are needed to conduct research into these areas? How will the information garnered be evaluated for significance and accuracy?

Image Creator:  Are there writings/interviews of the artist that provide information regarding the work? Are the creators' views supported by the image? Do the general public, historians, critics, and/or other viewers agree with the creators' views? Do these individual perceptions correspond with those of other groups? Is there pertinent information regarding the creators' background, beliefs, experiences, up bringing, etc. that might influence the making and subsequent viewing of the image?

Image Content and Form: What is contained in the image? How was the image constructed? How does the content and form of this image compare with others that are similar? Which elements and principles of design contribute to the significance of the image?

Viewer: Consider the ramifications of individual viewers. Is there pertinent information about the viewer that influences the viewing, i.e. religious beliefs, political affiliation, gender, and economic status?

What background knowledge is needed to evaluate violent imagery?

In order to effectively evaluate violent imagery, one must have existing knowledge of the period in art history when the image was produced and an understanding of other controversial images and artists from that time.

“Evaluating images that relate to violence is a lengthy endeavor and one whose process is not primarily about securing answers, but rather about engaging in the complexity of inquiry. Teaching students to consider many aspects of interpretation can facilitate informed responses and is a lifelong skill that can be used to analyze images in a variety of contexts.”

What makes art violent?

For the purpose of this lesson, we have decided to focus on art that depict blood and/or torture.

Grade: Nine Open Visual Art

Curriculum Standards:

B1.1 identify and describe their initial reactions to a variety of art works (e.g., their emotional

reaction to a work such as Paul Peel’s After the Bath; their first impression of a work’s mood,

subject, intent)

B1.2 identify, on the basis of examination, elements and principles of design used in various art works, and describe their effects (e.g., the use of value to enhance contrast between foreground and background; the use of colour to contribute to mood, depth, and/or unity)

B1.3 interpret a variety of historical and/or contemporary art works (e.g., prehistoric cave paintings, Egyptian tomb paintings, Claes Oldenburg’s Shoestring Potatoes Spilling from a Bag) to identify their subject matter and purpose and the meanings they convey

B1.4 use a variety of strategies (e.g., peer- and self-assessment, formal and informal critiques,

small-group and class discussions) to identify and reflect on the qualities of their own art works and the works of others, and evaluate the effectiveness of these works

B2.2 identify ways in which various art works reflect the society in which they were created (e.g., the cave paintings at Lascaux, the pyramids at Giza, the Parthenon, the Qin terracotta warriors and horses)

The critical analysis process includes the following aspects:

• initial reaction

• analysis and interpretation

• consideration of cultural context

• expression of aesthetic judgement

• ongoing reflection

Materials:

-A picture of a lemon for each student

-A picture of a house for each student

-A picture of a heart for each student

-Franciso Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” (selected because the Grade 9 English and Language Arts curriculum requires students to explore Greek Mythology)

-Caravaggio “Judith Beheading Holofernes” (Selected as the “Religious” piece to stir historical and religious debate)

- The Simpsons “Family Fight” (selected as the modern image)

-3 shoeboxes to be used as ballot boxes

 -Worksheet

Input:

Explain to the students that they are going to be critiquing art today. Display the three images around the room where they are clearly visible to each student and give students time to consider each image. While they are considering their initial reactions and being critical analysts, place a heart, a house and a lemon cut out at each student’s desk and ask them to place their name on it.  (5 minutes)

Next, ask the students to think about which one is their favourite (heart), which one is they would most likely hang in their home (house) and which one they don’t particularly enjoy (lemon). (5 minutes) Once they have made their choices, they are to go and place their ballots in the corresponding ballot boxes for each art piece.

Once students have had time to place their ballot, they should return to their desk and record how they voted for each piece on the worksheet below.  

Franciso Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son	Caravaggio “Judith Beheading Holofernes”	Simpsons “Family Fight”
Ranking:	Ranking:	Ranking:

While the students are recording how they ranked each image, the instructor should be tabulating the ballots the class cast.

Guided Practice:

The teacher should then lead a discussion about how the students critiqued the work. Students may wish to record interesting points or take jot notes from the discussion for the journal they will be required to write later.

Sample guiding questions from the Curriculum Document the instructor may find useful include:

• What is your first impression of this work?

• What does this work bring to mind?

• What does this movement suggest to you?

• What emotions does this work evoke?

• What puzzles you? What questions do you have?

• What connections can you make between this work and your own experience or other art forms?

• What social, political, and historical events may have influenced the artist in this work?

• What cultural movements, events, or traditions or other works in the arts may have influenced the artist?

• What events in the artist’s life may have affected the creation of the work?

As students work through these questions they may come to realize they don’t have enough background information on some of the images or the artists who created them. The teacher may ask students to take on the role of researchers (as individuals or in small groups and report findings back to the class)

The instructor should also ask the students if they view the artwork as violent? 

What aspects of each piece make it feel or appear violent?

Do they think the piece is more acceptable now or in the time period it was created?

What makes something more or less violent (Contrast the cartoon to the more realistic paintings)? 

Does familiarity play into comfort level?

Where would you expect to see these images? Would that be an appropriate place to display them in our current social climate?

Independent Practice:

Following the introduction of this assignment, the teacher will ask students to get into small groups, students will be asked to research and prepare three images which are violent (contain blood or torture) and have them approved by the teacher. Students will then sign up for a date where their group will use their images to run the same activity with the images undergoing the same analysis by their peers (House, Heart, Lemon) with the student group who selected the images facilitating the discussion.

Follow Up:

Following each group’s presentation, the students in the class must journal about one of the images they ranked. By the end of the four violent image sessions, students must have written a critique about at least one heart, one home and one lemon piece.  

Simpson Family Fight

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Saturn Devouring His Son

Some thoughts on teaching protest art

Some thoughts on teaching protest art

I recently read a wonderful article by Kimberly Baker, called “The Art of Protest” [available at http://kimberlybaker.ca/media/pdfs/Essay_The_Art_of_Protest2.pdf].

In this article, Baker recounts her experience with copyright infringement after a series of critical art posters she’d created for her graduation exhibition at Emily Carr turned out to be illegal under the government of Canada’s new Bill C-47.  Baker’s posters asked viewers to engage in a public dialogue around the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, in terms of the major social issues that arose while preparation for these games was underway.  These issues included “homelessness, the environment, and the representation of place as a consumable commodity.”  

While Baker was finalizing her prints, the print technician she was working with asked her if she knew that her artwork was illegal.  Baker was surprised by the question, and explained that she’d taken a great deal of care to change the font and colours in her posters so that no copyright infringement would occur.  But the print technician went onto explain that VANOC had copyrighted the numbers 2010 under the government of Canada’s new Bill C-47.

Baker became frustrated by the bill, which she felt prioritized corporate profits over civil liberties, and considered the bill to be a direct infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, under which Freedom of Expression is protected.

Baker contextualizes her argument by discussing the importance of protest art in social movements throughout history, citing the paintings of Francisco De Goya, Theodore Gericault, and Eugene Delacroix as historic examples.  Baker then cites the works of Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Carl Beam, and Sonny Assu as modern examples of artists whose works provoke important social dialogue and critique.

Afraid of a lawsuit, but unwilling to simply abandon her artwork or hide it away, Baker arranged a meeting with Colin Jarvis, VANOC’s commercial rights manager, who tells her that VANOC is not interested in suing individual artists who are providing a social critique through their work.  However, he informed Baker that if she were to distribute her art posters all over Vancouver, then they would pursue the issue, as it would no longer be considered “art” but a “campaign.”  As a political protest artist, Baker remained unsatisfied with this conversation, as Bill C-47 “limits artists practicing appropriation and protest art,” relegating them to the confines of the Art Gallery, and rendering their political message far less powerful.

My thoughts:

I was happy to have found this particular article as it raises important issues within a Canadian context.  I enjoy using protest art as a teaching tool across all of the subjects I teach, as imagery often elicits emotional responses from students that a textbook can never provoke.  Also, my degree is in political science, and my favourite professors always made subjects more tangible by incorporating protest art, poetry, and music into their lectures.  The fact that the government is passing bills that can infringe on an artists’ ability to mobilize public debate and action is frightening to me, and I agree with Baker that this seems to overstep the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Did any of you know about this law going into effect?  If so, did you give the government a piece of your mind?

In terms of bringing controversial art into the classroom, I have used several of the historical art works that Baker mentions in her article, and am now inspired to incorporate the work of more contemporary Canadian artists like Sonny Assu and Carl Beam.  The teen years are a good time to introduce the practice of questioning and criticizing the socio-political and economic matrix in which they are becoming adults.  Not only are teenagers naturally interested in themes of rebellion and upheaval; they are also finding their own public voice and are readying themselves to become participants in a less-than-perfect democracy.  

Looking at controversial art that has contributed to social change in the classroom is encouraging for students who may not yet have had a chance to express their thoughts and opinions or may feel unheard.  I have had several students tell me they have felt a huge sense of relief in articulating their complex social views through their artwork, and having their peers appreciate their worldview through the symbolism used in their art.  These types of understandings create a sense of community within the classroom, and can also serve for interesting debate.

Further reflection:

In the secondary grades there is a lot more flexibility for teachers to experiment with course materials, as parents tend to be less involved as their youngsters mature.  I have been able to get away with an extremely liberal approach to teaching art, history, civics, and media studies, and in my 9 years of teaching have had only two parents take exception to materials shown in class - once because I showed the film ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ - [homo and trans-sexual content; coarse language] - and once because I showed the film ‘Bamboozled’ [exposing racial stereotypes and double-standards in the media; contains violence and coarse language].  In both instances, once I explained to the parents the context in which these videos were shown, and how they were linked to the curriculum, the parents were fine.  I have thought about sending a letter home before I show controversial material, but I have found that it’s much easier to do what you want, and apologize later, rather than give people the opportunity to stop you before you get started.  Have any of you had parents take exception to something you have shown in class?  If so, how did you respond? Do any of you take my approach of 'show first, apologize later'?

I have mentioned this in our prior discussions but another incident in which I caused an uproar was when I showed students the image The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet, and students were repulsed because the woman depicted in the image has pubic hair.  This sparked an interesting debate about the impact of the media on people’s definitions of beauty and expectations about how women’s bodies should look.  I enjoyed watching students’ reactions to one another during this debate, and am committed to showing this image over and over again in my classes, because these types of debates are important for students to engage in, and a safe, respectful classroom environment is the ideal setting in which to challenge your belief systems and world view.

One area in which I want to expand my teaching this year is to incorporate more contemporary Canadian artists into my curriculum, across all subject matters.  I also want to further politicize my classroom and see if I can’t get my students more civically engaged.  This is a struggle for me most semesters as I find that teenagers really feel powerless to incite change, and would rather just avoid the law than actually challenge it.  A working democracy requires that citizens post public challenges to all acts of government, so that civic engagement and political integrity are preserved.  Looking at this problem through an Arts lens is, in my opinion, the best and most relatable approach.  An image by Carl Beam, for instance, brings up myriad questions about Canada’s colonial history - questions that students would not necessarily care to ask if the subject were approached from a text book point-of-view.

The article by Kimberly Baker is something that I could share with my students to spark a debate about our Rights and Freedoms as Canadians, and we could go on to look at the intersection between Art, Politics, and the Law in several contexts, including protest art, street art, graffiti, and issues of plagiarism, copyright, and appropriation.  These issues are particularly relevant in the digital age, where the line between creative appropriation and theft is often easily blurred. 

I welcome your suggestions if any of you have particular artists or pieces of art that lend themselves easily to political debate.  I have mostly focused on a European, American and Canadian context in the past, but would welcome some advice about artists from around the world who engage in socio-political criticism and protest through their works.  Also, have any of you ever created your own protest art?