Creative Resistance


Book Description

During the uprisings of the Arab Spring, oppositional movements used political humor to criticize political leaders or to expose the absurdities of sociopolitical conditions. This comprehensive study of political humor in the uprisings explores the varieties and functions of humor as a creative tool for resistance.




The Path of Least Resistance


Book Description

The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life, Revised and Expanded discusses how humans can find inspiration in their own lives to drive creative process. This book discusses that by understanding the concept of structure, we can reorder the structural make-up of our lives; this idea helps clear the way to the path of least resistance that will lead to the manifestation of our most deeply held desires. This text will be of great use to individuals who seek to use their own lives as the driving force of their creative process.




Beautiful Rising


Book Description

In the struggle for freedom and justice, organizers and activists have often turned to art, creativity, and humor. In this follow-up to the bestselling Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, Beautiful Rising showcases some of the most innovative tactics used in struggles against autocracy and austerity across the Global South. Based on face-to-face jam sessions held in Yangon, Amman, Harare, Dhaka, Kampala, and Oaxaca, Beautiful Rising includes stories of the Ugandan organizers who smuggled two yellow-painted pigs into parliament to protest corruption; the Burmese students' 360-mile-long march against undemocratic and overly centralized education reforms; the Lebanese "honk at parliament" campaign against politicians who had clung to power long after their term had expired; and much more.




Creative Resistance


Book Description

During the uprisings of the Arab Spring between 2010 and 2012, oppositional movements used political humor to criticize political leaders or to expose the absurdities of the socio-political conditions. These humorous expressions in various art forms such as poetry, stand-up comedy, street art, music, caricatures, cartoons, comics and puppet shows were further distributed in the social media. This first comprehensive study of political humor in the uprisings explores the varieties and functions of political humor as a creative tool for resistance. It analyzes humorous forms of cultural expression and their impact on socio-political developments in different countries of the Middle East and North Africa with a special focus on the changing modes of humor.




Beautiful Trouble


Book Description

Banksy, the Yes Men, Gandhi, Starhawk: the accumulated wisdom of decades of creative protest is now in the hands of the next generation of change-makers, thanks to Beautiful Trouble. Sophisticated enough for veteran activists, accessible enough for newbies, this compact pocket edition of the bestselling Beautiful Trouble is a book that’s both handy and inexpensive. Showcasing the synergies between artistic imagination and shrewd political strategy, this generously illustrated volume can easily be slipped into your pocket as you head out to the streets. This is for everyone who longs for a more beautiful, more just, more livable world – and wants to know how to get there. Includes a new introduction by the editors. Contributors include: Celia Alario • Andy Bichlbaum • Nadine Bloch • L. M. Bogad • Mike Bonnano • Andrew Boyd • Kevin Buckland • Doyle Canning • Samantha Corbin • Stephen Duncombe • Simon Enoch • Janice Fine • Lisa Fithian • Arun Gupta • Sarah Jaffe • John Jordan • Stephen Lerner • Zack Malitz • Nancy L. Mancias • Dave Oswald Mitchell • Tracey Mitchell • Mark Read • Patrick Reinsborough • Joshua Kahn Russell • Nathan Schneider • John Sellers • Matthew Skomarovsky • Jonathan Matthew Smucker • Starhawk • Eric Stoner • Harsha Walia




Weird City


Book Description

A native Texan who lived and worked in the Austin area for more than twenty years, Joshua Long is Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at Franklin College Switzerland in Lugano, Switzerland. --Book Jacket.




The War of Art


Book Description

What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself.




Street Art of Resistance


Book Description

This book explores how street art has been used as a tool of resistance to express opposition to political systems and social issues around the world. Aesthetic devices such as murals, tags, posters, street performances and caricatures are discussed in terms of how they are employed to occupy urban spaces and present alternative visions of social reality. Based on empirical research, the authors use the framework of creative psychology to explore the aesthetic dimensions of resistance that can be found in graffiti, art, music, poetry and other creative cultural forms. Chapters include case studies from countries including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico and Spain to shed new light on the social, cultural and political dynamics of street art not only locally, but globally. This innovative collection will be of particular interest to scholars of social and political psychology, urban studies and the wider sociologies and is essential reading for all those interested in the role of art in social change.




Guerrilla Kindness & Other Acts of Creative Resistance


Book Description

“Full of ways to show your support for a cause through homemade items . . . a great book for anyone who wants to grow their skills as a maker.” —Nerdy Girl Express Craftivism is a non-threatening form of activism that gives people a voice when they feel voiceless and power where they feel powerless. It is an international movement for our time and artist, scholar, activist, and YouTube art teacher Sayraphim Lothian has put together the first-ever tutorial book on craftivism. This master craftivist shows you how to make and use various crafts for political and protest purposes including: · Embroidery · Cross stitch · Knitting · Stenciling · Decoupage · Stamping and much more Craftivism is a growing worldwide movement in which handcrafted works are being used to highlight political issues, creatively engage in activism, and encourage change in the world. Craftivists employ their works to open a space for people to be introduced to issues and to broaden the discussion surrounding them. While it might seem that this most colorful movement began recently, creative resistance has been with us for centuries around the globe, and craftivism and makers stating their mind through the medium of art is here to stay. “Whether capturing the stories in crochet, or creating spontaneous interventions of crafted kindness, Sayraphim Lothian’s projects show that the new resistance can be artistic, clever, and kind. Whether using street art or baking, embroidery or soft sculpture, she demonstrates that craftivism is, at it’s very best, a medium devoted to connecting humans together, one creative act at a time.” —Leanne Prain, coauthor of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet & Knit Graffiti




Critique of Creativity


Book Description

Creativity is astir: reborn, re-conjured, re-branded, resurgent. The old myths of creation and creators the hallowed labors and privileged agencies of demiurges and prime movers, of Biblical world-makers and self-fashioning artist-geniuses are back underway, producing effects, circulating appeals. Much as the Catholic Church dresses the old creationism in the new gowns of intelligent design, the Creative Industries sound the clarion call to the Cultural Entrepreneurs. In the hype of the creative class and the high flights of the digital bohemians, the renaissance of the creatives is visibly enacted. The essays collected in this book analyze this complex resurgence of creation myths and formulate a contemporary critique of creativity.