At the end of 2015 the Brooklyn Museum opened an exhibit entitled Agitprop!
The name is a blend of the terms agitation and propaganda used as
tactics by artists to engage the public on social issues. The mission of
the exhibit
was to showcase "key moments in history, where artists have reached
beyond galleries and museums, using their work as a call to action to
create political and social change."
Beyoncé has made a deliberate shift from entertainer to agitator extraordinaire.
True art should provoke emotion and with over 2
million tweets in just 48 hours following the release—let's just say her
message was received— with many still reeling from what they
experienced last Saturday night, myself included.
LEMONADE as I described in an earlier essay
is Beyoncé's lyrical and visual dissertation on the soul of a black
woman. The context of her latest body of work is raw, painful, complex,
and celebratory - and dare I say revolutionary. All from an artist who
has created a global brand which had worked to transcend race—an often
binding construct for many artists especially ones of color who find
themselves hitting the ceiling and floor of a whitewashed industry.
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