Art or Propoganda?

I believe that there is a very thin line between what we can deem as art, and what we so commonly label as propaganda.  I don’t think that any true artist would ever call a piece of their work as propaganda.  On a similar note, I believe there are people who solely create pieces of propaganda to influence and get their point across, and I don’t think that these people would label themselves as artists. I would almost classify certain forms of propaganda as a science.  I believe that propaganda has evolved into something that can be calculated based on human psychology. 

Now how does this relate to our book; An Artist of the Floating World? That is a good question, and one that does not really get answered until later on in the book.  From the beginning Masuji Ono is introduced to you as a retired artist, but other then this you are unclear about his past.  However as the book goes on you learn that some of his works were used by the government for propaganda purposes.  Masuji Ono almost seems to be embarrassed by his past, and perhaps this is why none of his works are shown throughout his house.

One particular piece that Masuji Ono talks about is his work entitled ‘Eyes to the Horizon.’ Masuji Ono describes this political piece as an “unsophisticated piece of work.” The piece ‘Eyes to the Horizon’ was printed in the 1930’s, during the height of the Japanese imperialistic movement.  The message of this piece was for people to support Japan’s forward movements.  By the way Masuji Ono reflects on this piece, you are able to tell that he still views it as a work of art, however “unsophisticated” he may believe it is.  He goes into detail about the “vigorous brush strokes” as well as the “powerful use of color,” by this you can tell that he is proud of its artistic qualities.  However he goes on to say that he is fully aware, “...that ‘Eyes of the Horizon’, whatever its artistic merits, is a painting whose sentiments are now outdated.” (pg. 169).  I think this quote shows best how Masuji Ono truly feels about his past profession. 

I think that it is easy to sympathize with how Masuji Ono feels about his past.  I believe that he feels partially responsible for things that happened during the second world war.   I think Masuji Ono was swept up in the imperialistic mind set just like most of the Japanese population, and just doing what he thought was right.  I do not believe that Masuji Ono was wrong in his actions.