Week 15 Project #5

1. Use the vocabulary you have learned in class to describe this artwork or performance in detail.

This piece is a work of conceptual art. The meaning of the painting is far more important than how it looks when completed. The content is meaningful and powerful. This painting relates to war and its resulting factors. The design is laid out a certain way for viewers to find the hidden figures. The painting has a combination of detail and elements. There is a form of organic art pictured here as well as realism due to war. 

2. What processes were used to create this work? What social influences might the artist be responding to and why?

World War II would begin just a couple years later and would further decimate the European continent as a whole. In Guernica, we see several victims of the bombing; some still living, some already dead. (Guernica Meaning, n.d.)

The artist is responding to the act of war. He targets the warmongers and fascists. It exists to make them feel ashamed. (Picasso, Guernica n.d.)

3. What is the relationship of this work to the time and society in which it was created? Describe the symbols used to express this relationship.

This painting is an anti-war icon that reveals crimes against humanity. In 1936, a civil war broke out. It was history’s first aerial saturation bombing of a civilian population. It was a cold-blooded training mission designed to test a new bombing tactic to intimidate and terrorize the resistance. (Picasso, Guernica n.d.) When looking closely at the painting, figured begin to emerge and faces appear. The faces show fear and cries. For example, to the very left corner lies a woman holding a small boy and crying to the sky. The boy is dying in her arms and she is devastated. 

4. Identify elements in the work that evoke a persuasive or emotional response. Be specific about what those responses are and why.

Color is shown within this painting. It was finished in black and white. This encourages the sorrow of war and the circumstances they were facing. It was a time of reckless behavior and chaos.

Value of grey is shown within the painting. The black is used to highlight the figures shown and emphasize the reality of war. 

Lines are used to give a two-dimensional image within the painting

Contrast of the grey tones emphasizes the emphasis expressed on the figures faces and bodies. 

5. Evaluate what you perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the work.  Apply discipline specific vocabulary and concepts when describing your point of view.

Picassos painting is not immediately clear and can be considered an abstract. The images convert into figures once it's analyzed long enough. 

References:

Picasso, Guernica. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/early-abstraction 

/cubism/a/picasso-guernica

Guernica Meaning: Analysis & Interpretation of Painting by Pablo Picasso. (n.d.). Retrieved from https:// 

legomenon.com/guernica-meaning-analysis-of-painting-by-pablo-picasso.html