How Public, Political Art Advances the Messages and Motifs Behind the Black Lives Matter Movement — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

How Public, Political Art Advances the Messages and Motifs Behind the Black Lives Matter Movement

Name: Kassidy Kwilas
Major: Communication
Hometown: Hoffman Estates
Faculty Sponsor: Jonathan Bruning
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

This critical analysis delves into the Black Lives Matter movement and its immense impact on our modern-day social structures. The influence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. is significant. The concerns it raises are imperative to the manner in which issues of legal and moral standing are now procedurally being handled. It has not only transformed the core concept of what a social movement is, but it has revolutionized the way that such movements are advertised. Although media sources and news channels are a vital source of communication to the public on subjects of injustice and oppression, art created from a political perspective to advocate for or against a social issue is what defines us as a people.

This thesis discusses the importance of political and activist art, and how it directly applies to Black Lives Matter. This genre of art is difficult to truly define because the views on what makes art political stems from the idea that nearly all art is, in fact, of a political nature (i.e. it either explicitly supports or opposes the status quo or social normative); however, there are various categories of political art that characterize it as a foundation of a social movement’s message: portrayal, promotion, and protest. Much of the political art inspired by the movement is classified as portrayal art. This means that it is representative of how an artist or a group interprets and feels towards a controversial topic within society – in this case, the systematic oppression of the Black community. Promotional and protest art are also common within the movement as they explicate current political and social concerns through either supporting freedoms and rights, or objecting to the discrimination of Black people.

By sparking conversations and awareness about uncomfortable topics of controversy like death, racism, injustice and oppression, the art of Black Lives Matter has become the modern-day podium for the communities of the oppressed. The Black Lives Matter movement has repaved the path of cultural justice through the myriad of visual imagery addressing what it means to face persecution within our country.

Poster file