> Yes. Modern sailing ships are a symbol of wealth inequality, and historical ones have plenty of other controversial associations, depending on time period. S

> Yes. Modern sailing ships are a symbol of wealth inequality, and historical ones have plenty of other controversial associations, depending on time period. So what statement am I making about any of these? My painting is of a ship, cresting a wave. > Also yes. Access to fresh fruit is a political subject. Just look at maps of food deserts. I didn't paint a food desert, or of anyone having or not-having access to the bowl in my painting. My painting is of fruit. In a bowl. What political statement am I making? > Stick around here for long enough and you'll find plenty of people arguing over the idealization of rural life, the roles of domesticated animals, etc. So what political statement is my painting making here? If the viewer of any of these paintings is interpreting them through their own political lens, it does not mean the art itself is political. It means the viewer is. Obviously if I paint a group of infantrymen menacing poor villagers who cower in fear, I'm making a statement. A lot of effort is required to present the menace, the fear, the looming and the cowering, the sneers and the pleas, etc. An apple sitting in a bowl presents none of those attributes. Unless you want to make appreciation of natural beauty a political issue. I won't go there.