The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius - David Ebony
Fifty years ago, the “Summer of Love” marked a period of
great civil upheaval and sexual revolution. It portended an
idyllic future full of harmony and understanding. Peace, the
hippies proclaimed, would guide the planets, and love would
steer the stars. The spirit of the 1960s was embodied by antiestablishment
and counterculture movements that gathered
strength and energy throughout the decade, breeding a variety
of grass-roots initiatives that resulted in “People Power”
and “Flower Power,” concepts that could serve us well today.
These social movements of the sixties tried to counter
war, racial prejudice, gender inequality, corruption, and
poverty. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and
violent civil unrest throughout the United States and Europe,
student uprisings and political protests of all kinds aimed to
reconfigure the world in order to heal it. The threat of nuclear
war loomed large as the ideological battle between capitalism
and communism raged. During this decade, the Soviet Union
tightened its grip on Eastern Europe, and China’s Cultural
Revolution roiled. Meanwhile, in many areas of the globe,
great strides were made in science, medicine, space exploration,
and agriculture. An awareness of, and protection for,
the earth’s fragile ecosystem began to germinate.
David Ebony is a Contributing Editor of Art in America magazine.
He also is a senior editor at Snap Editions, and a frequent contributor
to Artnet News and Yale University Press online, He lives and works in New York City.
Art in America: http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/search/david+ebony/
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Yale: http://blog.yalebooks.com/category/art-architecture/david-ebony-and-artbooks/
Artnet News: https://news.artnet.com/search/david+ebony%27s+top+10