THESE ARE (NOT) THE THINGS WE ARE FIGHTING FOR!
It is a truth universally acknowledged that contemporary art is fundamentally powerless vis-à-vis the status quo and unable to produce meaningful or, at least, long-lasting change. Of course, this does not preclude the existence of politically motivated artworks, though, on the flip side, the label ‘political’ has possibly never been applied as liberally as it is today.
REBIRTH AND ABSENCE
Let us begin by considering two images. The first is a photograph by Niko Xhufka, one of the principal photographers for Zëri i Popullit, the primary daily published in the People’s Republic of Albania. Published in a 1976 photobook compiling Xhufka’s work and highlighting his compellingly artistic approach to socialist realist photography - the image was accompanied by the caption “When spring arrives...”