STAGE 4
AFTERMATH
This piece marks the return of a battleship, with the Union Jack seen in the painting. Coupled together with the congregation of people that have gathered to welcome the ship back, as well as the title of the painting, this art piece seems to reflect some kind of patriotism. However, the flat, dull colours and atmosphere of the painting do not match this, and both confront each other to create the piece we currently have. "The painting evokes a sense of empty excess, critical of the surge in bombastic patriotism and the aggressively nationalist rhetoric surrounding the conflict." (Bevan, 2018). No one seems particularly excited, despite the people in the crowd raising a V for victory with their hands. With the return of a battleship, I can only assume that a war has just ended, or some other kind of confrontation. The subdued nature of the onlookers, despite their victory, despite being able to reunite with anybody they might know on that boat, could be due to what they have seen, heard and experienced during the confrontation to get to this point. No one will escape a confrontation unscathed, and while it is an unfortunately avoidable it is just another aftermath of confrontation. Was it really worth it?
With Singing Hearts and Throaty Roarings
by Jock McFadyen
1983
Oil and collage
1780 x 1180 mm
Guernica was painted as Picasso's reaction to the bombing of a small basque town during World War II. True to Picasso's style, Guernica is a cubist painting. This distortion and contortion of the faces in the painting also depict the intense anguish and agony the women are suffering from. None of the women in the painting appear to be spared from physical pain nor mental turmoil. In fact, one woman is cradling her disassembled baby as she wails. This use of cubism to depict the horrors of war is extremely effective as it shows the aftermath in pieces - an accurate portrayal of how terrifying and destructive confrontation can be. A man
Guernica
by Pablo Picasso
1937
Oil on canvas
3.49 x 7.77 m
that has been identified as a soldier is on the ground, clutching a broken sword in his closed fist - a symbol of the Republic (Lesser, 2017). There is only devastation and defeat left for the Republic in this painting. This painting shows the aftermath on the "losing" side of the confrontation. While the meaning of the eye symbol and the animals has been debated (the eye could symbolise either the watchful eye of God, or the bomb - the animals could represent facism or is a nod to traditional Spanish bullfighting), the utter pain and despair felt by everybody after the bombing in palpable and unmistakable. Does it make you wonder what's been on the losing side of your confrontations?
This is the last of Thomas Cole's The Course of Empire series. The fight has long since died down, leaving behind the broken ruins of what used to be a glorious empire. With context of the previous paintings, we are now able to see what this once massive empire has been reduced to - a deserted place, being slowly reclaimed by nature. There is almost a dreamlike, wistful quality to this painting, created by the use of colours and the wispy clouds. It is humbling to see how something majestic and highly lauded by man has been reduced to just another phase that nature would see past.
"Considering Cole’s denouement (Desolation) in the context
The Course of Empire: Desolation
By Thomas Cole
1836
Oil on canvas
39.5 × 63.5 inches
of the earlier works from this series — it seems he’s telling us that society is a gift (as its presented in the pastoral state), but that if man stray too far from his ‘natural state’ that the only place to go from there is down. It would seem this final painting goes further than simply saying “if man aims too high he is destined to fail,” but perhaps that man will also be punished. The lack of any human beings in this painting seem to say “if man cannot fit in with nature, then nature will do without man.”" (Ludwig, 2016). This painting depicts the aftermath of a confrontation, and the natural life in this picture gives us a little bit of hope - maybe there will be life for us there again someday as well. There is always some semblance of hope left in the aftermath of a confrontation - this painting shows that.
References
Bevan, S. (2018). 8 powerful works from our contemporary art collection. Retrieved from https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/8-powerful-works-from-our-contemporary-art-collection
Lesser C. (2017). What makes Guernica Picasso’s most influential painting. Retrieved from https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-guernica-picassos-influential-painting
Ludwig (2016). Painted: Old art, new skin – Thomas Cole's ‘The Course Of Empire – Desolation’. Retrieved from https://highlark.com/thomas-cole-the-course-of-empire-desolation/