In the article “Street art confronts the pandemic,” Suri (2020) addressed the appearance of a great number of murals around the world dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic in authors’ interpretation. The most distinguishable and peculiar works from Norway, Denver, Charlotte, Berlin, and Milwaukee were chosen and described with comments of their creators on how the ideas of images had come to them. In general, almost all subjects are related to well-known attributes of the pandemic – masks, hand sanitizers, toilet paper. At the same time, a considerable number of murals are dedicated to health care workers in order to commemorate and appreciate their work and contribution to lives’ saving. The article may be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/travel/coronavirus-street-art.html
In general, the article reflects multiple aspects of the connection of anthropology with art, especially in Western societies. First of all, the author directly, though straightly, identify street work as art, even if considering placement is a common way of art’s distinguishing along with aesthetic value (Kottak, 2018). However, in the present day, the boundary between art and other humans’ works and activities that cannot be regarded as art is not sharp, and the majority of contemporary artists try to convert everyday life into art (Kottak, 2018). This tendency may be observed in already mentioned street murals as they reflect realities of the pandemic that are common for almost every person in the world.
In comparison with non-Western societies that value collective activities, Western art traditionally emphasizes the individuality of artistic production when an artist is known and mentioned in relation to a piece of art. According to Haapala, artists and their art become inseparable, and “by creating works of art a person creates an artistic identity for himself. He creates himself quite literally into the pieces he puts into his art. He exists in the works he has created” (Kottak, 2018, p. 442). This individuality may be traced in street art as well – almost all muralists leave their signatures in the same way as artists whose works are placed in museums do (Suri, 2020). In addition, they freely leave comments or write about their works, how the idea to create them came, and what they wanted to say by these murals.
The anthropologist Jacques Maquet stated that “an artwork is something that stimulates and sustains contemplation” (Kottak, 2018, p. 440). In this case, being “the ultimate visual source of social commentary,” street murals should be definitely regarded as art as they bring several highly essential messages for people (Suri, 2020, para. 1). First of all, they show that regardless of the pandemic, life does not stop and people should start to value it, their families, and beloved ones. In addition, street art aims to support people in this challenging time and release anxiety by introducing a bit of humor and irony in relation to COVID-19. And it goes without saying that street art of Western societies may be regarded as a part of a global mission of art to thank health care workers and appreciate their contribution to people’s health.
References
Kottak, C. P. (2018). Anthropology: Appreciating human diversity (18th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Suri, C. (2020).Street art confronts the pandemic.The New York Times. Web.