The politician lost the Faizabad constituency in which he built the controversial Ram temple
Category Archives: Stories
Emergency repairs at 11th-century fortress offer a ray of hope in country where dozens of historic sites are damaged or destroyed
“The arts and sciences, essential to the prosperity of the state and to the ornament and happiness of human life, have a primary claim to the encouragement of every lover of his country and mankind.” – George Washington
BY JEREMY BROWN
From the ornate lithographs of the 19th century to the viral memes of today, art has been an indispensable weapon in the battle for political power in the United States. Campaign posters, political cartoons, and modern digital graphics have all played crucial roles in swaying public opinion and crafting candidates’ images. This article explores how art has been used to influence American politics, examining its evolution from early satire to contemporary digital media, and critiquing the effectiveness of iconic political art across history.
Early Political Cartoons: Satire as a Sword and Shield
The power of art in American politics began with the sharp pen of Benjamin Franklin. In 1754, Franklin’s “Join, or Die” cartoon wasn’t just a call for unity among the American colonies—it was a masterstroke of political propaganda that used a simple, yet striking visual to convey a complex message. The fragmented snake, a symbol of disunity, was a radical departure from the traditional written appeals of the time, showcasing art’s potential to drive political narratives.
Fast forward to the 19th century, and Thomas Nast, the father of American political cartoons, wielded his brush like a sword against the corrupt political machine of Tammany Hall. Nast’s caricatures of Boss Tweed are legendary for their biting humor and stark visuals, portraying Tweed as a bloated, greedy figure in league with a corrupt system.
His work was so impactful that it led directly to the fall of Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine. This era demonstrated that political art could not only influence but also dismantle entrenched power structures.
Campaign Posters: From Simple Slogans to Iconic Imagery
As the 20th century rolled in, campaign art evolved into a more sophisticated and strategic weapon. The poster for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 campaign, with its optimistic slogan “Happy Days Are Here Again,” wasn’t just a piece of art—it was a declaration of hope during the Great Depression. The vibrant colors and cheerful message of the poster were crafted to offer Americans a vision of a brighter future, a technique that would become a staple in political campaigns.
One cannot discuss campaign art without acknowledging the “Hope” poster by Shepard Fairey for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. This iconic piece, with its striking red, white, and blue color scheme and the powerful word “Hope” emblazoned beneath Obama’s face, became a global symbol of the candidate’s vision for change.
The poster’s impact was so profound that it was featured in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, cementing its place in the annals of political art history. However, critics argue that while the poster inspired hope, it was also criticized for oversimplifying complex political issues into a single, digestible image.
Art of Emotions: Feel It!
The evolution of campaign art didn’t stop at posters. Ronald Reagan’s 1984 “Morning in America” ad is a prime example of art being effectively used to convey the feeling of prosperity and inspire voters. The ad’s serene imagery of American landscapes paired with a hopeful soundtrack aimed to create a vision of a revitalized, unified nation. Of course, Reagan’s political opponents argued that the ad was a masterclass in using artistic imagery to gloss over the more challenging realities of the era, including the Cold War.
Contrast this with Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Daisy Girl” ad from 1964, which used a haunting visual metaphor to portray the existential threat of nuclear annihilation. The image of a little girl counting daisies, abruptly interrupted by a nuclear explosion, was a visceral attempt to frighten voters into supporting Johnson over Barry Goldwater. The ad’s stark imagery and emotional appeal made it one of the most controversial and memorable political advertisements in U.S. history.
The Digital Revolution: Social Media and the Meme Wars
Entering the 21st century, the digital age transformed political art into an interactive and viral phenomenon. Social media platforms became the new battlegrounds where political art competed for attention in an ever-crowded space. Memes, with their ability to spread quickly and engage users on a personal level, became a potent tool for political messaging.
During the 2016 presidential election, the use of memes was instrumental in shaping public perceptions. Donald Trump’s campaign harnessed the power of digital art with viral content like the infamous “Trump Train” meme, which portrayed Trump as a powerful force barreling toward victory. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s campaign struggled with a series of less memorable and less impactful visual messages, failing to capitalize on the same level of digital engagement. The contrast highlighted how digital art and memes could make or break a campaign in the internet age.
Art as Protest: A Platform for Dissent
“Pepe the Frog,” originally a non-political cartoon character created by Matt Furie, gained unexpected prominence in U.S. politics, particularly during the 2016 presidential election, when millions of dissatisfied voters used this artistic image as an act of disobedience, “trolling” the established candidates in favor of Donald Trump. Pepe’s image went viral and was widely shared across various online platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others.
While many used it in light-hearted or humorous contexts, others, including some associated with the alt-right, adopted Pepe as a symbol. This appropriation sparked controversy around the limits of free speech, as Pepe became linked to highly divisive political rhetoric. Efforts by Furie and others to reclaim Pepe as a non-political meme faced challenges due to its entrenched associations. The phenomenon highlighted broader debates about internet culture, freedom of expression, and the unintended consequences of online symbolism in contemporary political discourse in America.
Similarly, the enigmatic and controversial England-based street artist and political activist, Banksy, has captivated the American audience with his provocative murals. His politically charged artworks often target the United States and its allies, critiquing capitalism, surveillance, and immigration policies.
Banksy’s art exemplifies how street art can serve as a potent form of civilian protest and social commentary. By challenging viewers to think critically about the status quo, Banksy engages the American audience in uncomfortable discussions about political and social issues.
Freedom: The Enduring Power of Art in American Politics
From Benjamin Franklin’s revolutionary cartoons to the viral memes of today’s elections, art has been a potent force in American politics. It has shaped public opinion, elevated political debates, and influenced election outcomes across centuries. While the methods and mediums have evolved, the core function of art as a vehicle for political expression and persuasion remains unchanged.
As we look to the future, it’s clear that art will continue to play a vital role in the democratic process. Whether through traditional forms like posters and cartoons or through innovative digital platforms and artificial intelligence, the art of politics will remain a dynamic and influential force, reflecting the aspirations and conflicts of each new era. In the end, the history of political art is not just a chronicle of campaigns and candidates but a testament to the enduring power of creativity in the pursuit of power and justice.
“I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.” – John F. Kennedy
Special thanks to Jason Heuser for granting The World Art News permission to use his political artworks. For more of Jason’s art, please visit JasonHeuser.com
Also Read
Brief History of American Revolutionary Art Through Its Most Iconic Masterpieces
The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Brief History of Art in U.S. Elections: American Politics from Franklin to Trump appeared first on World Art News.
A notable inlaid iron jar and cover, decorated with intricate designs of birds and flowers representing the four seasons and commissioned by the renowned Meiji-era crafts entrepreneur Kawaguchi Yohei of Tokyo, sold for £114,700 ($146,000) at Bonhams New Bond Street.
The item significantly exceeded its estimated value of £50,000-80,000 ($63,000-102,000) during the Fine Japanese Art Sale, which featured Meiji Masterpieces from a Distinguished Deceased Estate this May. The auction comprised 166 lots, achieving a total of £1,065,816 ($1,363,000), with a remarkable 98% sold by value.
Suzannah Yip, Bonhams Department Director, Japanese Art commented, “This outstanding inlaid jar and cover is truly a masterpiece of dazzling craftsmanship and beauty, and we are delighted with the price it achieved. It is testimony to the remarkable skill of the master metalworker responsible for such a magnificent piece. Many of the pieces from the Ando Jubei Company also achieved impressive results.”
Other notable highlight from the auction included an exceptionally fine moriage cloisonné-enamel vase from the Ando Jubei Company, dating to the late 19th or early 20th century of the Meiji era (1868-1912). The vase, featuring vibrantly colored enamels depicting a persimmon tree laden with ripe fruit, sold for £53,740 ($68,000), exceeding its estimate of £30,000-50,000 ($38,000-63,000).
The auction underscored the enduring appeal and high value of fine Japanese art from the Meiji era, showcasing the remarkable craftsmanship and artistic achievements of that period.
Founded in 1793, Bonhams has representatives in over 30 countries and operates flagship salerooms in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. It is a global network of auction houses boasting the largest number of international salerooms and offering the broadest range of collecting categories, catering to all price points. Recognized for its bespoke service and dedication to fostering local market relationships, Bonhams enhances its global platform. With 14 salerooms, Bonhams hosts over 1,000 sales annually, spanning more than 60 specialist categories such as fine art, collectibles, luxury items, wine & spirits, and collector cars.
Also Read
Brief History of Samurai Art: A Thousand-Year Odyssey of Discipline, Honor, and Inspiration
Story submitted by Bonhams. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Magnificent Japanese Inlaid Jar from the Meiji Era Sells for $146,000 appeared first on World Art News.
In Part 6 of our exclusive interview, we delve deeper into the multifaceted career of Dave Vescio, an award-winning artist and actor celebrated for his provocative work and candid opinions.
PART 5: Exclusive Interview with Dave Vescio – The Journey Never Ends
Dave’s regular interactions with his social media followers, where he often addresses individual inquiries and even criticism, piqued our interest in his views about the potentially dangerous influence of social media on the art world. True to form, Dave shared his refreshingly unfiltered and thought-provoking perspectives, challenging conventional views and sparking meaningful reflection among our readers.
“Social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.”
You have many fans with whom you engage regularly on social media, demonstrating humility by responding to individual inquiries and even criticism. Is social media important for you? What role has it played in your art career, and what are your thoughts on its significance for contemporary artists?
I have always felt that when someone takes their precious time to comment on one of your social media posts then you should say thank you for that. I do that with a like and/or with a comment. The same when someone DMs me, I will DM something back to them. This is no different when someone smiles and says “hello” to you in public, you smile back and say “hello” back.
But I’ve also realized over the past 17 years of doing social media (I was one of the first ones to use social media aka MySpace back in the day) that most people do not like, comment, or even DM back. It’s a strange world we live in. Strange indeed!
As for your questions, yes, I do believe social media was very important for emerging artists and maybe mid-career artists to make themselves known to the world. To my knowledge the first ones to use MySpace were musicians and standup comics.
I learned how to use MySpace because a musician taught me the way and then a standup comic took me to the next level. So, social media totally got the word out about who I was as an actor to tons of people, and it helped get my film & TV acting projects seen by the masses all around the world as well.
Now, is it significant for contemporary artists today or for that fact any kind of artist? Before the covid lockdowns, I would have said a “YES!” to that. Today. I am very, very wary of social media these days. For four primary reasons:
1. Cancel culture has destroyed a lot of artists’ careers on social media. I know lots of artists who had to take down their art because it breaks some kind of code of conduct. What are we living in a Puritan culture all over again? Have these people not read “Fahrenheit 451” at all? Especially, since, we all continuously see real life porn or real-life graphic images of these wars in Ukraine and Palestine all over social media these days. To me it feels like social media has declared a war on artists.
“Canceling artists is NOT freedom”
By saying, you either create this kind of art that *we approve of* or face the consequences of losing your social media accounts for good. That’s a very, very scary road that these social media companies are traveling on. They are literally re-educating (aka brainwashing) our culture into something else. No different than the past regimes did when they cancelled artists in their own time periods. Canceling artists is NOT freedom. It’s the opposite of freedom.
2. Generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is totally stealing art across this whole world. Scraping websites of artistic content, and then, convincing governments to pass laws to make this all legal. In the juried art show circuit, most of the artists that have mid-level careers have literally stopped posting content on their social media pages in the past two years. I suspect it’s because of GenAI. GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists these days.
“GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists”
3. Reddit admitted this past February of selling their users’ generated content to a large AI company. I suspect every single social media company will do the same (if they haven’t already) or create their own AI company with our generated content instead. So, I truly believe if you’re an artist who doesn’t want their art scraped to the highest bidder. It’s probably time for you to break away from these social media sites for good. We do not live in the same world when social media was created in the early 2000s for the innovators and the early adopters to use and slowly make themselves known to the world.
4. Last, but not least… social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them and making them tons of money off our hard work. All I see every single day is social media users spending hours per day to create video content for their friends and family to see. In Hollywood, all of us actors get paid to act in created films, TV, and video content.
“Social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them”
We social media users don’t get a dime for our video creations. But the social media companies are getting richer and richer by the day by placing advertisements next to our created video content (no different than what network TV does on TV channels). But those cast and crew members of those TV shows and even the cast & crew members of those commercials are all getting paid to work.
So, this social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.
So, my days on social media are slowly coming to an end. I suspect I will be off social media for good within the next year or two. It’s not the same as when I joined MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter over 15 years ago. It’s a totally different beast today! The rules have changed horribly and not for the best. Not even close.
What currently inspires your art?
Life, death, decay, & rebirth. That has always inspired my art for the past 25+ years. That has always been my *through line* for all the different artistic mediums that I have chosen to study and become a professional at. Culinary art & pastry art deals with killing plants & animals and reshaping it into a rebirth (which in an essence gives us humans life again).
When I was a TV photojournalist for CBS News, I specialized at covering natural disasters & manmade disasters, and when I was a film & TV actor, I specialized at playing movie villains. And now, as a contemporary artist, my art deals with life, death, decay, and rebirth as well. It’s what I have been searching for ever since I saw my first dead body at the age of 4 and I saw a motorcycle rider die right in front of me when I was 7 years old. And I have always asked “Where did they go? They were just right here, alive and kicking.”
So, I am always trying to figure out the ancient questions that we humans have always asked ourselves. Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go next? That has always inspired my WHY? for doing art and I suspect it always will. By finding new artistic mediums or new artistic genres to work in to find more meaning to it all, and maybe one decade I’ll finally have all the answers to my most important questions of all.
What also inspires me is the competition of it all. I LOVE to compete. If I’m not competing against myself or against others, I do not feel good about myself. I feel like a slacker. I feel lazy. And it’s not ALL about winning. I can feel good losing to others as well. It’s all about “Did I give my best effort with the information that I had at hand?” If not, then I got to do better or get better information, so, I can do better next time around.
“I LOVE to compete”
And the easiest way for me to get better information is to study the best of the best. The ones I admire the most. By putting my art next to theirs and seeing what’s the difference between the two of ours. I learn so, so much by doing this, so, I constantly do this. So, that totally inspires me to create more and more as well.
The last thing that inspires me is to shake things up. To try out new ideas and see if I like it or not. Magic tends to happen when you’re willing to try new things in new ways. I have accidentally come across my current way of doing things because it was just an accident when I first tried it out. I got an idea, tried it, and “wallah”, magic happens! 
Do you spend most of your time in the city or in nature?
Since I live in Hollywood which is pretty smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles County, I must travel by car for at least an hour or two to just get myself out of this gigantic county. LA County is the largest county in the United States. It’s about 40 miles by 40 miles in length and we have about 10 million people living in it. There are only ten states in the United States that have a bigger population than LA County. So, it takes a while to truly be out in nature.
Sure, we got beaches and mountains. But those tend to be covered by tons of people. When I say the word *nature* I think of national parks in the middle of nowhere or anything that is nature-wise in the middle of nowhere. That’s quite a distance for us LA people.
So, I spend most of my time in a city surrounded by concrete in every direction (aka the concrete jungle) and I try to go out into nature and spend anywhere from four to six weeks per year in the middle of nowhere.
Truly allow myself to feel the Earth beneath my feet and see nothing in sight but God’s creations in all different directions from north, south, east to west and up into the sky and deep out into the Universe as well. It’s a fantastic feeling indeed! But I would say most of my contemporary art is created in cities, towns, or ghost towns. The rest is created in the middle of nowhere.
Can you describe your experience collaborating with other artists or creative professionals?
My introduction to contemporary art was with the blue-chip artist Paul McCarthy. Shoot, he’s the reason why I became a contemporary artist. Paul totally opened my eyes up to what film art and art in general can be. Paul totally pushes art into the outer limits. The guy is totally fearless, and he is a genius as well. There’s a reason why he is a blue-chip artist and why the rest of us artists are not. He was born to do it, and I respect the hell out of him!
As you know, before I became a contemporary artist on my own in the summer of 2020, all the other artistic mediums I ever worked in were all collaborated art forms. That’s all I ever knew to do was to create with others. But, when I started to create my own contemporary art, I decided to do it all on my own. I want to create art, that I want to create, and then, find people in this world who truly love what I create.
“Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead…”
Will I ever collaborate again? Most likely I will. But only time will tell… But, right now, I LOVE creating my own artworks on my own. It’s very, very liberating and it totally feels like freedom to me. Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead and trust me I don’t want to be dead just yet. Many more decades to go! 
Part 7 is Coming Soon!
The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Exclusive Interview with Award-Winning Artist and Actor Dave Vescio – Part 6 | Antisocial Media appeared first on World Art News.
In Part 6 of our exclusive interview, we delve deeper into the multifaceted career of Dave Vescio, an award-winning artist and actor celebrated for his provocative work and candid opinions.
PART 5: Exclusive Interview with Dave Vescio – The Journey Never Ends
Dave’s regular interactions with his social media followers, where he often addresses individual inquiries and even criticism, piqued our interest in his views about the potentially dangerous influence of social media on the art world. True to form, Dave shared his refreshingly unfiltered and thought-provoking perspectives, challenging conventional views and sparking meaningful reflection among our readers.
“Social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.”
You have many fans with whom you engage regularly on social media, demonstrating humility by responding to individual inquiries and even criticism. Is social media important for you? What role has it played in your art career, and what are your thoughts on its significance for contemporary artists?
I have always felt that when someone takes their precious time to comment on one of your social media posts then you should say thank you for that. I do that with a like and/or with a comment. The same when someone DMs me, I will DM something back to them. This is no different when someone smiles and says “hello” to you in public, you smile back and say “hello” back.
But I’ve also realized over the past 17 years of doing social media (I was one of the first ones to use social media aka MySpace back in the day) that most people do not like, comment, or even DM back. It’s a strange world we live in. Strange indeed!
As for your questions, yes, I do believe social media was very important for emerging artists and maybe mid-career artists to make themselves known to the world. To my knowledge the first ones to use MySpace were musicians and standup comics.
I learned how to use MySpace because a musician taught me the way and then a standup comic took me to the next level. So, social media totally got the word out about who I was as an actor to tons of people, and it helped get my film & TV acting projects seen by the masses all around the world as well.
Now, is it significant for contemporary artists today or for that fact any kind of artist? Before the covid lockdowns, I would have said a “YES!” to that. Today. I am very, very wary of social media these days. For four primary reasons:
1. Cancel culture has destroyed a lot of artists’ careers on social media. I know lots of artists who had to take down their art because it breaks some kind of code of conduct. What are we living in a Puritan culture all over again? Have these people not read “Fahrenheit 451” at all? Especially, since, we all continuously see real life porn or real-life graphic images of these wars in Ukraine and Palestine all over social media these days. To me it feels like social media has declared a war on artists.
“Canceling artists is NOT freedom”
By saying, you either create this kind of art that *we approve of* or face the consequences of losing your social media accounts for good. That’s a very, very scary road that these social media companies are traveling on. They are literally re-educating (aka brainwashing) our culture into something else. No different than the past regimes did when they cancelled artists in their own time periods. Canceling artists is NOT freedom. It’s the opposite of freedom.
2. Generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is totally stealing art across this whole world. Scraping websites of artistic content, and then, convincing governments to pass laws to make this all legal. In the juried art show circuit, most of the artists that have mid-level careers have literally stopped posting content on their social media pages in the past two years. I suspect it’s because of GenAI. GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists these days.
“GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists”
3. Reddit admitted this past February of selling their users’ generated content to a large AI company. I suspect every single social media company will do the same (if they haven’t already) or create their own AI company with our generated content instead. So, I truly believe if you’re an artist who doesn’t want their art scraped to the highest bidder. It’s probably time for you to break away from these social media sites for good. We do not live in the same world when social media was created in the early 2000s for the innovators and the early adopters to use and slowly make themselves known to the world.
4. Last, but not least… social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them and making them tons of money off our hard work. All I see every single day is social media users spending hours per day to create video content for their friends and family to see. In Hollywood, all of us actors get paid to act in created films, TV, and video content.
“Social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them”
We social media users don’t get a dime for our video creations. But the social media companies are getting richer and richer by the day by placing advertisements next to our created video content (no different than what network TV does on TV channels). But those cast and crew members of those TV shows and even the cast & crew members of those commercials are all getting paid to work.
So, this social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.
So, my days on social media are slowly coming to an end. I suspect I will be off social media for good within the next year or two. It’s not the same as when I joined MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter over 15 years ago. It’s a totally different beast today! The rules have changed horribly and not for the best. Not even close.
What currently inspires your art?
Life, death, decay, & rebirth. That has always inspired my art for the past 25+ years. That has always been my *through line* for all the different artistic mediums that I have chosen to study and become a professional at. Culinary art & pastry art deals with killing plants & animals and reshaping it into a rebirth (which in an essence gives us humans life again).
When I was a TV photojournalist for CBS News, I specialized at covering natural disasters & manmade disasters, and when I was a film & TV actor, I specialized at playing movie villains. And now, as a contemporary artist, my art deals with life, death, decay, and rebirth as well. It’s what I have been searching for ever since I saw my first dead body at the age of 4 and I saw a motorcycle rider die right in front of me when I was 7 years old. And I have always asked “Where did they go? They were just right here, alive and kicking.”
So, I am always trying to figure out the ancient questions that we humans have always asked ourselves. Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go next? That has always inspired my WHY? for doing art and I suspect it always will. By finding new artistic mediums or new artistic genres to work in to find more meaning to it all, and maybe one decade I’ll finally have all the answers to my most important questions of all.
What also inspires me is the competition of it all. I LOVE to compete. If I’m not competing against myself or against others, I do not feel good about myself. I feel like a slacker. I feel lazy. And it’s not ALL about winning. I can feel good losing to others as well. It’s all about “Did I give my best effort with the information that I had at hand?” If not, then I got to do better or get better information, so, I can do better next time around.
“I LOVE to compete”
And the easiest way for me to get better information is to study the best of the best. The ones I admire the most. By putting my art next to theirs and seeing what’s the difference between the two of ours. I learn so, so much by doing this, so, I constantly do this. So, that totally inspires me to create more and more as well.
The last thing that inspires me is to shake things up. To try out new ideas and see if I like it or not. Magic tends to happen when you’re willing to try new things in new ways. I have accidentally come across my current way of doing things because it was just an accident when I first tried it out. I got an idea, tried it, and “wallah”, magic happens!
Do you spend most of your time in the city or in nature?
Since I live in Hollywood which is pretty smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles County, I must travel by car for at least an hour or two to just get myself out of this gigantic county. LA County is the largest county in the United States. It’s about 40 miles by 40 miles in length and we have about 10 million people living in it. There are only ten states in the United States that have a bigger population than LA County. So, it takes a while to truly be out in nature.
Sure, we got beaches and mountains. But those tend to be covered by tons of people. When I say the word *nature* I think of national parks in the middle of nowhere or anything that is nature-wise in the middle of nowhere. That’s quite a distance for us LA people.
So, I spend most of my time in a city surrounded by concrete in every direction (aka the concrete jungle) and I try to go out into nature and spend anywhere from four to six weeks per year in the middle of nowhere.
Truly allow myself to feel the Earth beneath my feet and see nothing in sight but God’s creations in all different directions from north, south, east to west and up into the sky and deep out into the Universe as well. It’s a fantastic feeling indeed! But I would say most of my contemporary art is created in cities, towns, or ghost towns. The rest is created in the middle of nowhere.
Can you describe your experience collaborating with other artists or creative professionals?
My introduction to contemporary art was with the blue-chip artist Paul McCarthy. Shoot, he’s the reason why I became a contemporary artist. Paul totally opened my eyes up to what film art and art in general can be. Paul totally pushes art into the outer limits. The guy is totally fearless, and he is a genius as well. There’s a reason why he is a blue-chip artist and why the rest of us artists are not. He was born to do it, and I respect the hell out of him!
As you know, before I became a contemporary artist on my own in the summer of 2020, all the other artistic mediums I ever worked in were all collaborated art forms. That’s all I ever knew to do was to create with others. But, when I started to create my own contemporary art, I decided to do it all on my own. I want to create art, that I want to create, and then, find people in this world who truly love what I create.
“Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead…”
Will I ever collaborate again? Most likely I will. But only time will tell… But, right now, I LOVE creating my own artworks on my own. It’s very, very liberating and it totally feels like freedom to me. Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead and trust me I don’t want to be dead just yet. Many more decades to go!
Part 7 is Coming Soon!
The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Exclusive Interview with Award-Winning Artist and Actor Dave Vescio – Part 6 | Antisocial Media appeared first on World Art News.
In Part 6 of our exclusive interview, we delve deeper into the multifaceted career of Dave Vescio, an award-winning artist and actor celebrated for his provocative work and candid opinions.
PART 5: Exclusive Interview with Dave Vescio – The Journey Never Ends
Dave’s regular interactions with his social media followers, where he often addresses individual inquiries and even criticism, piqued our interest in his views about the potentially dangerous influence of social media on the art world. True to form, Dave shared his refreshingly unfiltered and thought-provoking perspectives, challenging conventional views and sparking meaningful reflection among our readers.
“Social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.”
You have many fans with whom you engage regularly on social media, demonstrating humility by responding to individual inquiries and even criticism. Is social media important for you? What role has it played in your art career, and what are your thoughts on its significance for contemporary artists?
I have always felt that when someone takes their precious time to comment on one of your social media posts then you should say thank you for that. I do that with a like and/or with a comment. The same when someone DMs me, I will DM something back to them. This is no different when someone smiles and says “hello” to you in public, you smile back and say “hello” back.
But I’ve also realized over the past 17 years of doing social media (I was one of the first ones to use social media aka MySpace back in the day) that most people do not like, comment, or even DM back. It’s a strange world we live in. Strange indeed!
As for your questions, yes, I do believe social media was very important for emerging artists and maybe mid-career artists to make themselves known to the world. To my knowledge the first ones to use MySpace were musicians and standup comics.
I learned how to use MySpace because a musician taught me the way and then a standup comic took me to the next level. So, social media totally got the word out about who I was as an actor to tons of people, and it helped get my film & TV acting projects seen by the masses all around the world as well.
Now, is it significant for contemporary artists today or for that fact any kind of artist? Before the covid lockdowns, I would have said a “YES!” to that. Today. I am very, very wary of social media these days. For four primary reasons:
1. Cancel culture has destroyed a lot of artists’ careers on social media. I know lots of artists who had to take down their art because it breaks some kind of code of conduct. What are we living in a Puritan culture all over again? Have these people not read “Fahrenheit 451” at all? Especially, since, we all continuously see real life porn or real-life graphic images of these wars in Ukraine and Palestine all over social media these days. To me it feels like social media has declared a war on artists.
“Canceling artists is NOT freedom”
By saying, you either create this kind of art that *we approve of* or face the consequences of losing your social media accounts for good. That’s a very, very scary road that these social media companies are traveling on. They are literally re-educating (aka brainwashing) our culture into something else. No different than the past regimes did when they cancelled artists in their own time periods. Canceling artists is NOT freedom. It’s the opposite of freedom.
2. Generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is totally stealing art across this whole world. Scraping websites of artistic content, and then, convincing governments to pass laws to make this all legal. In the juried art show circuit, most of the artists that have mid-level careers have literally stopped posting content on their social media pages in the past two years. I suspect it’s because of GenAI. GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists these days.
“GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists”
3. Reddit admitted this past February of selling their users’ generated content to a large AI company. I suspect every single social media company will do the same (if they haven’t already) or create their own AI company with our generated content instead. So, I truly believe if you’re an artist who doesn’t want their art scraped to the highest bidder. It’s probably time for you to break away from these social media sites for good. We do not live in the same world when social media was created in the early 2000s for the innovators and the early adopters to use and slowly make themselves known to the world.
4. Last, but not least… social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them and making them tons of money off our hard work. All I see every single day is social media users spending hours per day to create video content for their friends and family to see. In Hollywood, all of us actors get paid to act in created films, TV, and video content.
“Social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them”
We social media users don’t get a dime for our video creations. But the social media companies are getting richer and richer by the day by placing advertisements next to our created video content (no different than what network TV does on TV channels). But those cast and crew members of those TV shows and even the cast & crew members of those commercials are all getting paid to work.
So, this social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.
So, my days on social media are slowly coming to an end. I suspect I will be off social media for good within the next year or two. It’s not the same as when I joined MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter over 15 years ago. It’s a totally different beast today! The rules have changed horribly and not for the best. Not even close.
What currently inspires your art?
Life, death, decay, & rebirth. That has always inspired my art for the past 25+ years. That has always been my *through line* for all the different artistic mediums that I have chosen to study and become a professional at. Culinary art & pastry art deals with killing plants & animals and reshaping it into a rebirth (which in an essence gives us humans life again).
When I was a TV photojournalist for CBS News, I specialized at covering natural disasters & manmade disasters, and when I was a film & TV actor, I specialized at playing movie villains. And now, as a contemporary artist, my art deals with life, death, decay, and rebirth as well. It’s what I have been searching for ever since I saw my first dead body at the age of 4 and I saw a motorcycle rider die right in front of me when I was 7 years old. And I have always asked “Where did they go? They were just right here, alive and kicking.”
So, I am always trying to figure out the ancient questions that we humans have always asked ourselves. Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go next? That has always inspired my WHY? for doing art and I suspect it always will. By finding new artistic mediums or new artistic genres to work in to find more meaning to it all, and maybe one decade I’ll finally have all the answers to my most important questions of all.
What also inspires me is the competition of it all. I LOVE to compete. If I’m not competing against myself or against others, I do not feel good about myself. I feel like a slacker. I feel lazy. And it’s not ALL about winning. I can feel good losing to others as well. It’s all about “Did I give my best effort with the information that I had at hand?” If not, then I got to do better or get better information, so, I can do better next time around.
“I LOVE to compete”
And the easiest way for me to get better information is to study the best of the best. The ones I admire the most. By putting my art next to theirs and seeing what’s the difference between the two of ours. I learn so, so much by doing this, so, I constantly do this. So, that totally inspires me to create more and more as well.
The last thing that inspires me is to shake things up. To try out new ideas and see if I like it or not. Magic tends to happen when you’re willing to try new things in new ways. I have accidentally come across my current way of doing things because it was just an accident when I first tried it out. I got an idea, tried it, and “wallah”, magic happens!
Do you spend most of your time in the city or in nature?
Since I live in Hollywood which is pretty smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles County, I must travel by car for at least an hour or two to just get myself out of this gigantic county. LA County is the largest county in the United States. It’s about 40 miles by 40 miles in length and we have about 10 million people living in it. There are only ten states in the United States that have a bigger population than LA County. So, it takes a while to truly be out in nature.
Sure, we got beaches and mountains. But those tend to be covered by tons of people. When I say the word *nature* I think of national parks in the middle of nowhere or anything that is nature-wise in the middle of nowhere. That’s quite a distance for us LA people.
So, I spend most of my time in a city surrounded by concrete in every direction (aka the concrete jungle) and I try to go out into nature and spend anywhere from four to six weeks per year in the middle of nowhere.
Truly allow myself to feel the Earth beneath my feet and see nothing in sight but God’s creations in all different directions from north, south, east to west and up into the sky and deep out into the Universe as well. It’s a fantastic feeling indeed! But I would say most of my contemporary art is created in cities, towns, or ghost towns. The rest is created in the middle of nowhere.
Can you describe your experience collaborating with other artists or creative professionals?
My introduction to contemporary art was with the blue-chip artist Paul McCarthy. Shoot, he’s the reason why I became a contemporary artist. Paul totally opened my eyes up to what film art and art in general can be. Paul totally pushes art into the outer limits. The guy is totally fearless, and he is a genius as well. There’s a reason why he is a blue-chip artist and why the rest of us artists are not. He was born to do it, and I respect the hell out of him!
As you know, before I became a contemporary artist on my own in the summer of 2020, all the other artistic mediums I ever worked in were all collaborated art forms. That’s all I ever knew to do was to create with others. But, when I started to create my own contemporary art, I decided to do it all on my own. I want to create art, that I want to create, and then, find people in this world who truly love what I create.
“Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead…”
Will I ever collaborate again? Most likely I will. But only time will tell… But, right now, I LOVE creating my own artworks on my own. It’s very, very liberating and it totally feels like freedom to me. Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead and trust me I don’t want to be dead just yet. Many more decades to go!
Part 7 is Coming Soon!
The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Exclusive Interview with Award-Winning Artist and Actor Dave Vescio – Part 6 | Antisocial Media appeared first on World Art News.
In Part 6 of our exclusive interview, we delve deeper into the multifaceted career of Dave Vescio, an award-winning artist and actor celebrated for his provocative work and candid opinions.
PART 5: Exclusive Interview with Dave Vescio – The Journey Never Ends
Dave’s regular interactions with his social media followers, where he often addresses individual inquiries and even criticism, piqued our interest in his views about the potentially dangerous influence of social media on the art world. True to form, Dave shared his refreshingly unfiltered and thought-provoking perspectives, challenging conventional views and sparking meaningful reflection among our readers.
“Social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.”
You have many fans with whom you engage regularly on social media, demonstrating humility by responding to individual inquiries and even criticism. Is social media important for you? What role has it played in your art career, and what are your thoughts on its significance for contemporary artists?
I have always felt that when someone takes their precious time to comment on one of your social media posts then you should say thank you for that. I do that with a like and/or with a comment. The same when someone DMs me, I will DM something back to them. This is no different when someone smiles and says “hello” to you in public, you smile back and say “hello” back.
But I’ve also realized over the past 17 years of doing social media (I was one of the first ones to use social media aka MySpace back in the day) that most people do not like, comment, or even DM back. It’s a strange world we live in. Strange indeed!
As for your questions, yes, I do believe social media was very important for emerging artists and maybe mid-career artists to make themselves known to the world. To my knowledge the first ones to use MySpace were musicians and standup comics.
I learned how to use MySpace because a musician taught me the way and then a standup comic took me to the next level. So, social media totally got the word out about who I was as an actor to tons of people, and it helped get my film & TV acting projects seen by the masses all around the world as well.
Now, is it significant for contemporary artists today or for that fact any kind of artist? Before the covid lockdowns, I would have said a “YES!” to that. Today. I am very, very wary of social media these days. For four primary reasons:
1. Cancel culture has destroyed a lot of artists’ careers on social media. I know lots of artists who had to take down their art because it breaks some kind of code of conduct. What are we living in a Puritan culture all over again? Have these people not read “Fahrenheit 451” at all? Especially, since, we all continuously see real life porn or real-life graphic images of these wars in Ukraine and Palestine all over social media these days. To me it feels like social media has declared a war on artists.
“Canceling artists is NOT freedom”
By saying, you either create this kind of art that *we approve of* or face the consequences of losing your social media accounts for good. That’s a very, very scary road that these social media companies are traveling on. They are literally re-educating (aka brainwashing) our culture into something else. No different than the past regimes did when they cancelled artists in their own time periods. Canceling artists is NOT freedom. It’s the opposite of freedom.
2. Generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is totally stealing art across this whole world. Scraping websites of artistic content, and then, convincing governments to pass laws to make this all legal. In the juried art show circuit, most of the artists that have mid-level careers have literally stopped posting content on their social media pages in the past two years. I suspect it’s because of GenAI. GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists these days.
“GenAI is a threat to most 2D artists”
3. Reddit admitted this past February of selling their users’ generated content to a large AI company. I suspect every single social media company will do the same (if they haven’t already) or create their own AI company with our generated content instead. So, I truly believe if you’re an artist who doesn’t want their art scraped to the highest bidder. It’s probably time for you to break away from these social media sites for good. We do not live in the same world when social media was created in the early 2000s for the innovators and the early adopters to use and slowly make themselves known to the world.
4. Last, but not least… social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them and making them tons of money off our hard work. All I see every single day is social media users spending hours per day to create video content for their friends and family to see. In Hollywood, all of us actors get paid to act in created films, TV, and video content.
“Social media is getting us all to work for FREE for them”
We social media users don’t get a dime for our video creations. But the social media companies are getting richer and richer by the day by placing advertisements next to our created video content (no different than what network TV does on TV channels). But those cast and crew members of those TV shows and even the cast & crew members of those commercials are all getting paid to work.
So, this social media industry needs to be *unionized just like the film & TV industry* and everyone who creates video content needs to get paid for every view they get because the social media companies are all getting paid for every view you get. That’s for sure. They’re slowly becoming trillion-dollar companies because of us all.
So, my days on social media are slowly coming to an end. I suspect I will be off social media for good within the next year or two. It’s not the same as when I joined MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter over 15 years ago. It’s a totally different beast today! The rules have changed horribly and not for the best. Not even close.
What currently inspires your art?
Life, death, decay, & rebirth. That has always inspired my art for the past 25+ years. That has always been my *through line* for all the different artistic mediums that I have chosen to study and become a professional at. Culinary art & pastry art deals with killing plants & animals and reshaping it into a rebirth (which in an essence gives us humans life again).
When I was a TV photojournalist for CBS News, I specialized at covering natural disasters & manmade disasters, and when I was a film & TV actor, I specialized at playing movie villains. And now, as a contemporary artist, my art deals with life, death, decay, and rebirth as well. It’s what I have been searching for ever since I saw my first dead body at the age of 4 and I saw a motorcycle rider die right in front of me when I was 7 years old. And I have always asked “Where did they go? They were just right here, alive and kicking.”
So, I am always trying to figure out the ancient questions that we humans have always asked ourselves. Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go next? That has always inspired my WHY? for doing art and I suspect it always will. By finding new artistic mediums or new artistic genres to work in to find more meaning to it all, and maybe one decade I’ll finally have all the answers to my most important questions of all.
What also inspires me is the competition of it all. I LOVE to compete. If I’m not competing against myself or against others, I do not feel good about myself. I feel like a slacker. I feel lazy. And it’s not ALL about winning. I can feel good losing to others as well. It’s all about “Did I give my best effort with the information that I had at hand?” If not, then I got to do better or get better information, so, I can do better next time around.
“I LOVE to compete”
And the easiest way for me to get better information is to study the best of the best. The ones I admire the most. By putting my art next to theirs and seeing what’s the difference between the two of ours. I learn so, so much by doing this, so, I constantly do this. So, that totally inspires me to create more and more as well.
The last thing that inspires me is to shake things up. To try out new ideas and see if I like it or not. Magic tends to happen when you’re willing to try new things in new ways. I have accidentally come across my current way of doing things because it was just an accident when I first tried it out. I got an idea, tried it, and “wallah”, magic happens!
Do you spend most of your time in the city or in nature?
Since I live in Hollywood which is pretty smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles County, I must travel by car for at least an hour or two to just get myself out of this gigantic county. LA County is the largest county in the United States. It’s about 40 miles by 40 miles in length and we have about 10 million people living in it. There are only ten states in the United States that have a bigger population than LA County. So, it takes a while to truly be out in nature.
Sure, we got beaches and mountains. But those tend to be covered by tons of people. When I say the word *nature* I think of national parks in the middle of nowhere or anything that is nature-wise in the middle of nowhere. That’s quite a distance for us LA people.
So, I spend most of my time in a city surrounded by concrete in every direction (aka the concrete jungle) and I try to go out into nature and spend anywhere from four to six weeks per year in the middle of nowhere.
Truly allow myself to feel the Earth beneath my feet and see nothing in sight but God’s creations in all different directions from north, south, east to west and up into the sky and deep out into the Universe as well. It’s a fantastic feeling indeed! But I would say most of my contemporary art is created in cities, towns, or ghost towns. The rest is created in the middle of nowhere.
Can you describe your experience collaborating with other artists or creative professionals?
My introduction to contemporary art was with the blue-chip artist Paul McCarthy. Shoot, he’s the reason why I became a contemporary artist. Paul totally opened my eyes up to what film art and art in general can be. Paul totally pushes art into the outer limits. The guy is totally fearless, and he is a genius as well. There’s a reason why he is a blue-chip artist and why the rest of us artists are not. He was born to do it, and I respect the hell out of him!
As you know, before I became a contemporary artist on my own in the summer of 2020, all the other artistic mediums I ever worked in were all collaborated art forms. That’s all I ever knew to do was to create with others. But, when I started to create my own contemporary art, I decided to do it all on my own. I want to create art, that I want to create, and then, find people in this world who truly love what I create.
“Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead…”
Will I ever collaborate again? Most likely I will. But only time will tell… But, right now, I LOVE creating my own artworks on my own. It’s very, very liberating and it totally feels like freedom to me. Freedom is the most important thing to me in the whole wide world! Without it I rather be dead and trust me I don’t want to be dead just yet. Many more decades to go!
Part 7 is Coming Soon!
The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Exclusive Interview with Award-Winning Artist and Actor Dave Vescio – Part 6 | Antisocial Media appeared first on World Art News.
Ostensibly a guide to the city's top 50 sites, a new book by Paul Roberts offers far more
"We were long a society of fun and sun, but we’re no longer that—we don’t want that," he said.