Satirical Art About Progress, Technology and Inequality

Archive feature, first published 2018-05-05.

Sometimes, the irony of human's history is too much. We look back and say to ourselves so many times that we will become better human beings and that things will improve. That's usually not the case. We keep forgetting the reason that we couldn't reach a better degree in our lives. We can't seem to find the right way out of our age-old problems, as there's an enlarging gap between our prospering and suffering.

On the other hand, technologies' prosperity has never been seen more as a threat than ever. Has humankind fallen too low?

Take a look at the thought-provoking illustrations below and share your thoughts:

Progress can be the subject of a question

A satirical image may place an impressive invention beside an unresolved social problem. The contrast does not require a conclusion that all technology is harmful or that no improvement has occurred. Ask which kind of progress the picture emphasizes and which kind it suggests is missing. That distinction makes the criticism more precise. Comparing two illustrations that use different definitions of progress can be a productive way to explore the gallery without reducing it to a single pessimistic statement.

A closer look

Compare an image's promise with its visual outcome. Which element makes the contrast work? Naming that mechanism helps turn a strong immediate reaction into a discussion of what the artist is actually claiming.

Ask which benefit and which cost the image compares

A satire about technology may contrast convenience for one person with pressure on another. Naming those two sides makes the criticism more specific than a claim that progress has failed altogether. The gallery can support several distinct arguments, and each image deserves to be read through its own objects, figures and visual relationship.