Introduction: What Art Does: Power and Performativity

Key Points

• The aim is to explore the relationship between art and power dynamics in various contexts.
• Literature review on art theory and its societal impacts
• Analysis of examples illustrating power through art
• Discussion on the roles of commissioners and creators
• Art acts as a medium of power for those who commission it
• The depicted subjects in art also experience shifts in power
• Creation of art itself embodies a form of performative power