A widespread observation is that a great talent has a free spirit, which is often a threatening reality to those who wish to maintain the political status quo. There has always been a strong relationship between art and politics. Art has reflected power through ownership and by referencing its corrupting influence across historical epochs and cultures. As artists across the world respond to contemporaneous events and their social dimensions, they cannot help but comment on the political, becoming themselves a focus of controversy and even a force for change both political and social. So on the eve of the 2015 election Artlyst brings you the Top Ten Political Works Of Art, and there’s nothing boring about political art!
Nabokov said that the government by Russian Tsars Nicholas I and II, “remained aware that anything outstanding and original in the way of creative thought was a jarring note and a stride toward Revolution.”