Siqueiros creates art that can not be overlooked.

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.

Guernica is our reminder to continually strive for peace.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

1937, oil on canvas, 137.4 in × 305.5 in

Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid

Okay, so I am pretty sure this is one of those paintings that everyone has seen. See, I don't remember the "common" art pieces because after studying them all so much I forget which are the more common that everyone knows and which aren't. Nevertheless, Guernica is something everyone should know, or at least be familiar with. To sum up the story behind the piece, it was painted after the city of Guernica was bombed by warplanes during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso was commissioned to do this mural and after much deliberation and contemplation, he created this amazing piece. 

There's a few things I love about this piece. One, it brought about world-recognition for the Spanish Civil War, and more importantly, for the hardships of war. Two, it's filled with symbolism, which is always interesting and three, it's visually moving.

You know, I have been wanting to do a post on Guernica forever. It's just one of those pieces you HAVE to talk about every so often, but after starting this post I realized that the immense amount of symbolism in the piece isn't something I want to focus on (and if I did this post would be way too long). What I find so moving about Guernica is what happened after the work was created. Guernica was displaued in Paris at the World's Fair right after it was painted and it brought about this immense acknowledgement of the Spanish Civil War. Too many people often neglect the tradgedies of war and forget that others are suffering. Picasso painted this out of his anger and rage with so many innocent people dying, but little did he know that through his anger and hurt the mural he created would become an internationally known manifistation of peace. It was through the pain, the suffering, and the sadness that others would see Guernica and reflect on war. Reflect in a way that served as a reminder for the continual fight for peace, a fight that should and always will be never-ending.


Guernica is our reminder to continually strive for peace.

The Dove of Peace passionatly urges you to break through.

Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso

Just for the record, you can expect to see a lot more work by the artist's I put up during this first week, because they are all my favorites. Not many can deny Pablo Picasso's extreme contributions to the art world. I mean if you don't like his style of work from one decade, you are bound to fall in love with a style from another. His artwork went through cohesive progressions and when you study him extensively you start weave his life together through his work. This is one of the reasons I love him so much, Picasso provides a story not only through his work, but he created art for so long that it is so interesting going through his styles of progression and visualize his life.

The Dove of Peace is iconic and Picasso did numerous sketches, however it is this version that is my favorite. I love this piece so much that I have it tattooed on my body, but that is besides the point. I love all Picasso sketches, heck I love all artist's sketches. There is something so intriguing about an artists having hundreds and hundreds of different sketches of the same piece. Picasso began painting the dove as a call for restoration, a call for hope, and most importantly a call for peace. The dove has always been a symbol of peace, dating back to biblical times, however it was Picasso that presented this symbol at a time the world needed it most. Picasso's only form of expression was through his art and this dove enabled Picasso to make a statement.

Too many times we get caught up in life and forget about what's important. We get caught up in politics and find ourseleves debating the President's decisions more than debating why there are so much suffering in the world. Picasso didn't just paint this dove as something beautiful to look at, he painted it as a call to action. A call to stop and look at the world around you and not only notice unrest, but begin to visualize change. Peace is just around the corner, though at times we all stop a few steps before it- hesitant to break through.

The Dove of Peace passionatly urges you to break through.