Art in War

"All art is propaganda", repeated on numerous occasions by one of my professors. Every piece is intended to create some sort of emotional response or reaction. War is something that we all have become too familiar with, being portrayed in the news and cinema religiously. It has become a fore-front of our culture, visually, socially, and economically. After visiting the "War and Discontent" gallery in the MFA this became even clearer to me. It was interesting to see how each artist interprets the concept of war. Wikipedia defines war as:

"War is a state of widespread conflict between states, organisations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterised by the use of violent, physical force between combatants or upon civilians. War is contrasted with peace, which is usually defined as the absence of war. "

When analyzing their works, or any work rather, you have to consider the multi-dimensional aspects of war. I believe it is not exclusive to militaristic actions. As stated in this definition it is a conflict between masses of people. It has, however, become associated with the military as clearly portrayed by the media. Each artist exploited a different topic within war. Some used positive ideas as shown by Phil Collins' dancing room. These artists use their art to "cause turbulance" whether positive or negative. Art is often thought of what is visible. I believe that it is important not to forget that music, too, is a form of this "art propaganda". Artists, ranging from Eminem to Stravinsky, push the envelope which ensues in conflict between the public and in most cases the FCC. War does not have to be militaristic. This is something that became quite clear while visiting this exhibit. All I could hear radiating from the works is..."All art is propaganda".