Andy Warhol , Mao , 1972 .
With his vibrant aesthetic , Andy Warhol has illustrated the inescapable ubiquity of major names in the ‘ 60s and ‘ 70s . Using the image of Mao Zedong has transformed the Chinese leader into an exaggerated 1970s pop star .
This created a dialogue between monitored communist propaganda and Western kitsch .
President Nixon ’ s desire to end the diplomatic isolation between the US and China inspired Warhol to present Mao in a playful , westernised way . Warhol ’ s series had a long-lasting impact on the Cultural Revolution in China , which focused on investigating the symbols of the communist regime ..
Diego Rivera , Man at the Crossroads , 1934 .
There is no need to prove the greatness and controversy of Diego Rivera . No surprise that Man at the Crossroads shares the features of its creator . The endless struggle between capitalism and communism reached a new level after Nelson Rockefeller had demanded that this artwork be removed . Especially because it happened before the mural was even finished due to the motifs of the Soviet Union , with an image of Lenin included .
This decision sparked massive artists ’ protests on the streets of New York and inflated a discussion about the freedom of speech . The only surviving photos of this mural are the black-and-white pictures taken by Rivera , one of the Mexican Los tres grandes ..
Jacques-Louis David , The Death of Marat , 1793 .
The Death of Marat was a revolution . Literally . Due to the anti-church policies , any religious reference was forbidden over the time of the French Revolution .
However , by applying Caravaggio ’ s model , David managed to portray Marat as a revolutionary martyr .
As a journalist , politician , and defender of the French lower class , Marat was a strong and vigorous voice of the revolution .
Therefore , his assassination by a Royalist , Charlotte Corday , was a symbolic attempt of silencing the virtues of the rebellion .
John Lennon & Yoko Ono , Bed-Ins , 1969 .
During the peak of the Vietnam War in 1969 , John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono staged two demonstrations against wars . The Bed-ins for Peace were nonviolent , experimental protests that lasted two weeks and followed the couple ’ s wedding in Gibraltar .
One of them took place at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and one at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal . As Lennon and Ono knew that paparazzi would follow their honeymoon no matter the destination , the artists decided to present new ways to promote peace instead of going on holidays .
21