Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers Fear
Bush Busta
Fear
(Editor's Note: Guernica can be seen in its entirety at
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/persons6_n2/images_persons6/guernica.jpeg
)
David Cohen, Slate, February 7, 2003
Earlier this week, U.N. officials hung a blue curtain over a tapestry
reproduction of Picasso's Guernica at the entrance of the Security
Council. The spot is where diplomats and others make statements to the
press, and ostensibly officials thought it would be inappropriate for
Colin Powell to speak about war in Iraq with the 20th century's most
iconic protest against the inhumanity of war as his backdrop. Why is
Guernica such a powerfully controversial image after all these years,
and how did it come to hang in tapestry form at the United Nations?
Guernica is a mural, 11 feet 6 inches high and 25 feet 8 inches wide,
which commemorates the aerial bombardment - and obliteration - of the
ancient Basque town of 5,000 inhabitants by German and Italian
squadrons on April 26, 1937. It has justifiably been held to be one of
the masterpieces of modern art. A modern history painting, Guernica
self-consciously draws on archetypal forms the artist was exploring at
the time: bulls, horses, melancholy women - particularly Spanish
themes that were nonetheless classical and universal. Picasso used a
distinctive pictorial language to convey meaning in a broadly
accessible way without compromising the hermetic originality of the
artist's style; the chopped-up, fragmentary treatment of form makes
the image more startling and conveys violence. Most notable, though,
is the painting's audaciously stark absence of color - Guernica is
painted solely in black and white and gray tones. Black-and-white
images carry symbolic as well as graphic punch, of course, and, to a
contemporary audience used to newspapers and film, the added
connotation of objectivity.
Guernica is no stranger to political dispute. Picasso painted it for
the Spanish Pavilion of the 1937 Paris World's Fair as the fulfillment
of a commission that predated the bombing atrocity. After the World's
Fair, Guernica toured European capitals, a rallying-cry-in-paint to
the anti-fascist cause. In 1939, the mural and supporting studies
arrived in New York for a fund-raising tour in aid of Spanish war
relief. It left America for numerous exhibitions during the Cold War
years (by which time Picasso had joined the French Communist Party)
but during that time the Museum of Modern Art had become its
semipermanent home. Meanwhile, the Franco regime, far from viewing the
work as an embarrassment, was calling for its "return" to Spain -
ignoring the fact that the painting had never actually resided there.
In the first Spanish monograph on Picasso, published in Madrid in
1951, the author described Guernica as "the picture of all bombed
cities" - a neat formulation that underscores the cost of universalism
in art. Lack of specificity makes the image more potent and more tame.
While at MoMA, the mural became the focus of intense political
activism. Commenting on the natural home for the painting, Picasso had
said in 1956, "It will do the most good in America." In 1967, however,
400 artists responding to the Vietnam War signed a petition urging
Picasso to take it out of the country: "Please let the spirit of your
painting be reasserted and its message once again felt, by withdrawing
your painting from the United States for the duration of the war." The
liberal art historian Meyer Schapiro viewed this as nonsensical
political posturing. In a letter to the Art Workers Coalition in 1970
he asked if MoMA was making a protest against the crucifixion by
hanging paintings of that subject, and by implication, wondered why
Franco was so keen to have Guernica in the Prado, if hanging it
implied criticism of all warfare.
Not long after, in 1974, Tony Shafrazi, a young Iranian artist (and
later a trendy SoHo dealer) sprayed the words "Kill Lies All" onto the
picture, as a protest against U.S. action at My Lai. (The canvas was
well-varnished so his paint cleaned off with ease.) A self-proclaimed
Guerrilla Art Action Group came to the defense of Shafrazi, arguing
that he was completing, not vandalizing, Picasso's creation. Spain did
eventually get Guernica in 1981 under the terms specified by Picasso
of the country's transition to democracy.
The tapestry version at the United Nations was a gift from the estate
of Nelson D. Rockefeller in 1985. (For many years, the original had
hung at the Museum of Modern Art, of which Rockefeller was a key
supporter, while the United Nations was built on land belonging to the
Rockefellers.) The tapestry version succumbs to the temptation of
color - browns and taupe - considerably weakening its effect, as does
the change in medium and its smaller scale.
The continuing sensitivity to Guernica exemplified by the U.N.
cover-up may remind us that modern art is poor in images glorifying
just military action, though rich in images of the horrors and
injustices of war. Further back in history, of course, there are
numerous celebrations of the triumph of righteous might.
Unfortunately, some of the best depict the vanquishing of Saracens,
which might not go down so well today. Long gone, however, are the
days when statesmen actually commissioned public works of art, history
painting, or monumental sculpture for purposes of propaganda,
self-glorification, and political justification. Except, of course, in
Baghdad, where innumerable portraits of Saddam Hussein and
Bamiyan-sized replicas of his arms adorn the fateful streets.
--
"A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight
and too fat to run."
--Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
Chris Williamson
> Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
> Fear
I've seen Picasso's Guernica in Madrid, and I found it to be startling
and quite gripping, but certainly not something to fear.
There are no Bush Warmongers. Only
people who want to protect the world from terror.
Keep up your efforts to rid Saddam of WMD, Mr. Bush.
--
Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived.
- John Eldredge, "Wild at Heart"
Bush Busta
<cdw...@erols.com> wrote:
>Bush Busta wrote:
>
>> Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
>> Fear
>
>I've seen Picasso's Guernica in Madrid, and I found it to be startling
>and quite gripping, but certainly not something to fear.
Then why has it been covered outside the UN Security Council Chamber?
>There are no Bush Warmongers. Only
>people who want to protect the world from terror.
Which terror?
Hitler wanted to save the world from Jewish terror.
Stalin wanted to save the world from capitalist terror.
Same old excuses to kill and make a profit.
>Keep up your efforts to rid Saddam of WMD, Mr. Bush.
I see that you feared Guernica enough to snip all references to it in
the original post.
Here you go War Boy.
Tell us again about how you don't fear what Guernica stand for:
Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
Fear
(Editor's Note: Guernica can be seen in its entirety at
AD
Chris Williamson wrote:
> Bush Busta wrote:
>
> > Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
> > Fear
>
> I've seen Picasso's Guernica in Madrid, and I found it to be startling
> and quite gripping, but certainly not something to fear.
but it was covered anyway, wasn't it?
>
>
> There are no Bush Warmongers. Only
> people who want to protect the world from terror.
LOL!!!!!!! Right, that's why we already have plans in place
to STEAL the oil. Meanwhile, Bin Laden is globetrotting
and North Korea, a serious menace is playing a game
of nuclear chicken while Bush and the rest of his warmongers
schemes on how to legitimize the theft of a sovereign nation's
petroleum.
>
>
> Keep up your efforts to rid Saddam of WMD, Mr. Bush.
Spare me the drooling party retoric..........
>
>
> --
> Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived.
> - John Eldredge, "Wild at Heart"
"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in
England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But,
after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy
and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it
is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a
communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be
brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to
do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers
for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works
the same in any country."
-- Hermann Goering, President of the Reichstag, Nazi Party, and
Luftwaffe Commander in Chief
Mr_B...@reservoirdogs.com
> to STEAL the oil. Meanwhile, Bin Laden is globetrotting
> and North Korea, a serious menace is playing a game
> of nuclear chicken while Bush and the rest of his warmongers
> schemes on how to legitimize the theft of a sovereign nation's
> petroleum.
>
You changed your name I see... What was that name you used to use? Why
did you change it, huh???
============================
Mr_Blonde Presents the: "MORON OF THE MONTH" Club:
WeThePopTarts, Harry Hope, Bush Busta, Bush Buster
Vadik,
============================
Billy Wang
> Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
> Fear
>
> (Editor's Note: Guernica can be seen in its entirety at
> http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/persons6_n2/images_persons6/guernica.jpeg
> )
>
> David Cohen, Slate, February 7, 2003
>
Saddam - the man who pour gasoline down innocents mouths and lights a match.
Saddam - the Liberal Democrats & UN's new hero.
The UN is run by thugs like Saddam.
Brain Death
>
>
>Chris Williamson wrote:
>
>> Bush Busta wrote:
>>
>> > Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
>> > Fear
>>
>> I've seen Picasso's Guernica in Madrid, and I found it to be startling
>> and quite gripping, but certainly not something to fear.
>
>but it was covered anyway, wasn't it?
By the UN:
Earlier this week, U.N. officials hung a blue curtain over a tapestry
reproduction of Picasso's Guernica at the entrance of the Security
Council.
BD
When the Prime Minister spoke yesterday I thought to myself, "I hope I'll
be able to give a speech like that when I grow up" - Bill Clinton, October
2, 2002
Christian Winter
Billy Wang <albert_go...@yahoo.com.sg> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
c8ae6b7a.03020...@posting.google.com...
please stop comparing Negroponte and Powel to Saddam. You should show at
least a bit of patriotism.
Steven Litvintchouk
Bush Busta wrote:
>
> On Fri, 07 Feb 2003 11:42:38 -0500, Chris Williamson
> <cdw...@erols.com> wrote:
>
> >Bush Busta wrote:
> >
> >> Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
> >> Fear
> >
> >I've seen Picasso's Guernica in Madrid, and I found it to be startling
> >and quite gripping, but certainly not something to fear.
>
> Then why has it been covered outside the UN Security Council Chamber?
The U.S. didn't cover it over, the UN did.
Go ask the UN why they did that.
Since you love the UN so much.
--
Steven D. Litvintchouk
Email: sdli...@earthlink.net
Phil MacRackin
>
> Bush Busta <Bush...@America.com> wrote in message news:<tpl74v00klahntjq6...@4ax.com>...
> > Picasso's Guernica: The Anti-War Masterpiece that the Bush Warmongers
> > Fear
> >
> > (Editor's Note: Guernica can be seen in its entirety at
> > http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/persons6_n2/images_persons6/guernica.jpeg
> > )
> >
> > David Cohen, Slate, February 7, 2003
> >
You - A mental midget
Creideiki
I think the UN already made a statement. Something like they didn't
want an extra horse's ass in the camera frame.
Mark Jones
The real "Guernica" has a lot more impact!!!
The UN version is the same painting, but it's done in a lot of light brown
colors that greatly mute the impact. The original is very severe black/white
and shades.
The UN might as well leave it up. I'd be interested in who really decided to
cover it.
Mark Jones
mark_...@relaypoint.net
"Bush Busta" <Bush...@America.com> wrote in message
news:tpl74v00klahntjq6...@4ax.com...
Steven Litvintchouk
Given the appeasement drivel being spouted by France ("How about 200
inspectors? Maybe 300? Maybe a couple Mirage jets? Whaddaya say?")
and Germany and Russia at the Security Council, one more horse's ass
wouldn't make much of a difference.
The only one whose message was coherent, forceful and principled was
Powell. The rest were nauseatingly craven or cynical.