Primary resource – my photograph of Russian posters

When I went to the science museum, I was so intrigued by the 1900s section of everyday objects. There are Russian posters during the Cold War. I was drawn to the style of graphics, the bold text that goes well with the illustrations makes it very powerful. I was interested to know what was going on specifically around that time, for them to be making these drawings. Either it was propaganda or not, it has a very captivating style. My goal is to expand further and see what other themes I can explore along side this.

Nadia, P, 2022, Photography from the Science Museum [photography] London, South Kensington.

Otto dix – Der Kreig triptych

Otto Dix

Der Krieg

1929 – 32

Oil on canvas

Galerie Neue Meister, Dresden

This is an oil paint triptych that show the worst atrocities of war. From his first person experience, he painted this as an reminder to show how people should never go to war. I think that this image is super gruesome, which is the point he tries to make. He has successfully achieved creating the feeling of dread, hopelessness and distressful. Especially when we know that Otto dix has went to war, we can be sure that this is what he has saw. In the future I will use Otto dix's intention of creating a sense of dread to change the perception of people.

Dix, O., 1932. Der Krieg. [Oil on canvas] Galerie Neue Meister, Dresden.

Rodchenko posters

Alexander Rodchenko

Books (Please!) In All branches of Knowledge

1924

Lithography

This is one of Alexander Rodchenko piece that uses constructivism style. This is an advertisement for a publishing house, the woman in the image is shouting 'books'. I was particularly intrigued with the way he uses shape geometric shapes of blocks that goes well with photography. Although I could not understand the text, the typography used here is very impactful and eye-catching. I am very interested in this constructivism and futurism style that the Russians was experimenting. The use of limited colors makes the piece coherent with one another and I want to use this to inform my future work to try to understand how Rodchenkos made his piece.

Rodchenko, A., 1924. Books (Please!) In All Branches of Knowledge [Lithography] MoMA

Peter Kennard – never again posters

Peter Kennard

Never Again

1980

mixed media collages

Imperial War Museum, London.

Peter Kennard made a series of monochromic collages based on different occasions of war throughout history. How his work is particularly interesting is that the imagery he uses are very straightforward, playing around with imagery of a politician, or playing with scale to show the significant of the matter or so on. What I like about his collages is that it is very straight to the point, It does not have a lot going on, it shows what it needed and I think how he arranges them to be so impactful is very clever. His choice of text is also interesting, it is very few, but I think that is what it needed. It lets you think for yourself to form your own opinion. From what I will take from this, is I want to be able to create something that lets the viewer reflects on their own opinion without pushing a narrative too much, this way it allows more discussion to be made.

Kennard, P., 1980. Never Again [Photo montage] Imperial War Museum.

Leon Golub – Vietnam II

Leon Golub

Vietnam II

1973

Acrylic paint on Canvas

2940 × 11515 mm

this painting by Leon Golub is made to depict the Vietnam war, showing two sides of the war - the aggressor and the victims. What I like about this piece of work is that the way the fabric at the bottom was cut in half, it lets the audience fill in the gaps by themselves. It tells a story of war, but at the same time it allows you to think of what happens afterwards. The overall piece is seemed washed down and dull, the strokes and the detail of brush paint makes it seems like the subject is moving in motion. I think that having small details like brush strokes makes it very personal and real to the viewer. I hope I can be able to create or provoke the feeling of desperation.

Golub, L., 1973. Vietnam II [Acrylic paint on canvas] Tate Collection.

Yoko Ono – cut piece performance (vulnerability of body)

Yoko Ono

Cut Piece

1964

Performance film

MoMa

This is a performance piece made my Yoko Ono, it shows Yoko in a full clothes, and she told the viewers around her to let them cut a piece of her clothing of. Viewers would come and cut of some piece, and the film is eventually stopped until the viewer is too uncomfortable to cut anymore. I think that symbolically it shows how someone are willing to take something from you, and how the viewers interpret the instructions of take - you can see how much they are willing to take and it varies from one another. It shows how willingness Yoko is to give the viewers the power to make a choice. This makes me think of how vulnerable a person can be when they are powerless, this makes me think that I should convey that feeling of powerlessness in my piece.

Ono, Y., 1964. Cut Piece [Performance film] Kyoto, Japan.

Banksy – Man Throwing Flowers

Banksy

Flower Power

2007

Paint on stencil

This is one of the most iconic stencil art by Banksy inspired by the 1960s protest. I think how simple this image is, is already enough to explain the context behind it. The way the person is in motion of trying to throw something, it makes us viewers fill the gap, thinking that it must be something dangerous that is being thrown. But instead it was replaced by a flower, as if Banksy is playing and twisting around with censorships in media. I think I want to be able to convey the message of war, perhaps twisting censorship to show the true colors of the atrocities without lying.

Banksy, 2007. Flower Thrower [Stencil] Beit Sahour, Palestine.

Goya – 82 disasters of war (etching)

Francisco Goya

1810 - 1820

The Disaster of War (82 Prints)

Etching Prints

This is a series of Etchings done by Goya, that shows many different occasions and results of what war has done and its victims. He rejects depicting traditional heroism and chooses to not use colour to shows the truth is its closest form. I think this series of work has inspired me the most, it has truly shown different aspects of war and how cruel humanity can be to one another. He depicts a lot of gruesome death, missing limbs, hanging, raping, etc. This really helps me with my work because I also want to be able to depicts and show imagery that can be reached out to different types of people and touches them in different aspect.

Goya, F., 1810-1820. The Disasters of War [Etching Print] Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

Picasso –Guernica 1937

Pablo Picasso

1937

Oil on canvas

Cubism, Surrealism

349.3 cm × 776.6 cm

Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain

Picasso paints the event of the bombing in Guernica. The image portrays the suffering from violence and chaos. The most noticeable in the composition were the screaming horse with a bull, screaming women with her dead baby, a dismembered soldier and people being engulfed in fire. I think how the composition of this subject matter is amalgamate into one single subject makes it seem like everything is happening at the same time, but the source of that is from the same thing. While the chaos is happening, there is a lamp with a giant eye at the top, it shows that the authorities are witnessing without remorse. I Think that to be able to summarise what needs to be shown in one single canvas is something I can think of in terms of communicating imageries that I want.

Picasso, P., 1027. Guernica [Oil on canvas] Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.

Henry Tonks – veteran portraits

Henry Tonks

1916 - 17

Portrait of a Wounded Soldier before Treatment

Pastels

Henry Tonks was working hand to hand with a plastic surgeon during the war and witness many face injuries from the war. I think that the feeling of looking at these faces makes you realize how impactful and traumatize it was for these men even if they survived the war. I want to put these feelings or replicate these feelings in my piece, In hopes that the viewer would feel the same way with my piece like how I feel for this piece.

Tonks, H,. 1916-17. Portrait of a Wounded Soldier before treatment [Pastels] Gillies Archives.

Part 3 Research This page is part of the collection 'Part 3'.

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