On cultural guerrilla warfare: the artist and activism

Beginning with the question of when art is more than just representation, when it is action, this dissertation explores both the political and aesthetic aspects of art in relation to activism. In the first chapter I establish a political framework for the individual in opposition to a State and where potential sovereignty lies. Moving into aesthetics, I evaluate whether an artist has greater sovereignty than an average citizen. My term cultural guerrilla warfare is established and the origins of its development are explained. Three case studies round out the work of accessing the power of an Artist in relation to a respective State. The case studies are William T. Vollmann in the U.S., Ai Weiwei in China, and Pussy Riot in Russia. The Conclusion examines the Inter-State-hood of the artists giving examples of how each sees the states of the others.