The Echo of a Scream by David Alfaro Siqueiros
1937, enamel on wood, 121.9 x 91.4 cm
Musuem of Modern Art, New York
I promise I didn't do this on purpose, but both today and yesterday's image are responses to the Spanish Civil War. I am not trying to make this "Spanish Civil War week," it just happened to coincidentally happen.
Siqueiros was as interested in creating art as he was in creating bold and moving political statements. A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Siqueiros created numerous politically charged murals, however it is his The Echo of a Scream that hits me the most. Much like Picasso was outraged with the deaths of the innocent civilians of the Spanish Civil War, Siqueiros took his anger and created a piece that was both visually moving and visually disturbing. He chose to take the most innocent of all, a baby, and amplify the pain and horror of the war through the child's innocent scream of anguish. The child sits in a pile of debris, all of what is left of his world, and is alone, helpless, and in pain. Why did Siqueiros paint the larger head? Well, it symbolizes the lost lives and pain of all the victimss we don't see.
I know this isn't the happiest of posts, but there really is no other way to explain The Echo of a Sceam. If it wasn't the artist's main intention I would haved ignored the sad aspect, but that's the point.... I just can't. That's what Siqueiros wanted to do; he wanted to create a piece that was so visually distrubing it was impossible to ignore. Picasso chose to make a piece charged with symbolism so that the strange imagery would intice the viewers to read more into the piece, only then learning about the horror of the Spanish Civil War. Siqueiros chose to paint a piece that bluntly showed you the atrocities of the war. This is often how Siqueiros creates. His works are in your face, to the point, and in the process they are impossible to ignore.
Siqueiros creates art that can not be overlooked.
