ArtCity: Art in times of crisis – Woodstock Sentinel Review

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Miao Yutong

ArtCity

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It is no doubt that the global pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the art world. After more than a year of lockdowns and social-distancing measures, artists and art organizations have been forced to find alternative ways to engage with creative activities amid isolation and uncertainties. Yet, when we look back in history, humans have been fighting infectious diseases for centuries, which have profoundly shaped the history of art. A great number of influential artworks and artistic movements were born in times of crisis, their lifespan exceeding their creators, and their meaning growing with generations of viewers. How did past pandemics make an impact on art? Are we witnessing a historic moment as the coronavirus is doing the same?

In the 14th century, the bubonic plague took the lives of nearly a third of Europe’s entire population. However, it was also during this period of darkness when European art rose to glory. Many Renaissance masters, including Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Titan, lived their entire lives in the shadow of death while creating masterpieces that celebrated beauty and humanism. Other artists, such as Tintoretto, painted their best works for the church dedicated to plague-protective saints. Many iconic imageries of Renaissance art, such as the Dance with Death, the Divine Retribution and various patron saints, came into being as a reflection of the lived experience of the plague. Despite struggles faced by artists, patrons and ordinary individuals, art survived and flourished as a means for people to communicate their fear, pain and hope with each other and future generations.

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Likewise, in 1918, the Spanish flu brought trauma and fear around the world, infecting nearly 500-million people and taking the lives of an estimated 100-million people. Driven by shock, fear and pain, many artists turned away from realism in favour of a bold, expressionist style that could convey their intense emotions and complex psychological states following the devastating experience of the disease. Among them were Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, who painted portraits of himself after contracting the flu, as well as Austrian painter Egon Schiele, who created sketches of his teacher Gustav Klimt on his death bed. Living in the shadow of death brought by the flu, as well as the horror of First World War, many artists found themselves confronted with a chaotic world and sought artistic resolution in avant-garde movements that embraced mixed media and abstraction, paving the way for a new era in the history of modern art.

Stepping back in time just a few decades ago to the early 1980s, the AIDS public health crisis not only brought fear, anger and confusion among the general public, but also a condemnation of the LGBT community. Due to lack of recognition and support from the government and the medical industry, early AIDS patients suffered from bigotry and discrimination. As a response, many artists took part in the AIDS activist movement through a wide range of artistic initiatives, which sought to stress the medical impact of the disease, express feelings of longing and loss, and advocate for social and political response to the disease. Such a public and collective movement paved the way for a new generation of contemporary artists who sought to make a sociopolitical statement and foster awareness, action and change through artistic representations.

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As COVID-19 put humanity in a time of crisis again, it is no doubt that art will continue to play a vital role in our lives during this challenging time. Though artists around the globe have been confined at home, they continue to engage in artistic practice, sometimes uncovering new creative force driven by experiences in an unusual time. Though art museums and galleries had to close their doors at times, a huge number of virtual exhibitions and artistic activities came into being, bringing us joy and keeping us inspired and connected.

The Woodstock Art Gallery has also been making every effort to foster art within the community with a number of new exhibitions featuring artworks created by local artists in the past year. Among them are Visual Elements 63, a juried exhibition with a selection of artworks submitted by 33 local artists, as well as The Woodstock Camera Club Presents, which showcases winning photography entries from the Woodstock Camera Club’s annual contests. Sharing their personal perspectives of a universal experience of the pandemic through a wide range of styles and mediums, the artists allow us to explore how art and the pandemic had an impact on one another at this critical moment of history.

Miao Yutong is the curatorial/collections assistant at the Woodstock Art Gallery. The Woodstock Art Gallery acknowledges the support for this position which is funded by two federal student employment programs: Young Canada Works and Canada Summer Jobs.