Reflections illustrates the emotional pain caused by war through the depiction of a man struggling with the memories of fallen comrades while he experiences the grief of being a surviving soldier and as he also struggles to carry on with life after the war. The subject of the painting is a Vietnam veteran paying tribute to his fallen comrades at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC. As he is standing alone and in silence, he appears to be contemplating his friends that never made it home alive from Vietnam. While gazing at the memorial, he doesn’t appear to be only reading the names, but he actually visualizes the faces of the dead men. The picture insinuates that even though the men were together for only a short amount of time, the recollection of war continues to haunt him regularly. …show more content…
The subject’s posture is that of a distraught man and he appears to be weeping as he contemplates those men cheated out of a future because of the war. The largest item in the painting, the enormous, black wall, signifies how the war left a massive dark place in his soul. The strong clashes of light and dark colors emphasize the sorrow and sadness caused by the war. The deceased soldiers in the wall extend their arms to comfort the grief-stricken man. The man may even be feeling guilt over how fate left him on this side of the wall and not just an etched name to be remembered. At the bottom of the picture is a flag that reads “POW-MIA” and an American flag. These two items together signify how even though the artist empathized with the suffering caused by American involvement in the war, he maintains his belief in the greatness of the United
The artist creates motion by the use of colors and everything else appearing calm. At first glance you just notice an explosion of multiple bright colors, but once you look deeper you notice the bigger picture. This image was created just months after the 9/11 attack on America. This image represents hope, renewal, and promise. This picture showed that America is still strong and standing and will move on with and have hope.
Furthermore, painted are weeping women surrounded by deceased girls holding lifeless infants behind the military figure. A smog or gas seems to engulf them along with dead children. Even more, a third painting shows children from all over the world giving weapons to a German boy who is molding them into an uncertain object, showing there is no longer a need for weapons in a New World. In addition, the military man is dead with 2 doves above him, signifying such peace that has been brought. The final image is of a man in the middle, signifying Jesus.
the emotions excited by the actual sight of the stained and sordid scene, strewed with rags and wrecks, came back to us, and we buried the mutilated remains of the dead they too vividly represented” (Harvey 76). For him, these photos presented war from a rural perspective (Harvey 82). Photography presented natures presence through capturing exact scenes (Sweet 127) while not explicitly representing war, but allowing the viewer to interpret the battle (Sweet 96).... ... middle of paper ...
Yusef Komunyakaa, the poet of war, vividly describes his vacillating emotions about the Vietnam War and his relation to it as an African-American veteran in the poem, “Facing It.” Komunyakaa, the protagonist of his narrative, reflective poem, contemplates his past experiences as he promenades around the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, struggling to conceal his ardent emotions and remain hard and cold as “stone.” He writes one stanza in a dark mood, and by using metaphors and visual imagery, he paints a picture with his words for all to see.
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
The composition of the piece is combined with pictures of President Kennedy, geometrical shapes and superheros such as Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. The piece itself does not really show movement, but the images all relate because of the viewing of media, politics and social awareness that Basquiat wanted to express to the art world. The color variation of this piece embraces a bit of pop art, which indicates the huge influence that Andy Warhol had on Basquiat at the time. A Lot of the clip pictures are bold but their color schemes are different such as the President Kennedy's picture contrast with the superhero clippings contrast within dark red and light red with Kennedy’s picture .The mood of the painting expresses sadness and despair, but eagerness for hope. During the 1960’s, President Kennedy was assassinated. Basquiat viewed him as an idol which shows why his picture takes up most of this art piece.. At the time, Kennedy represented change and hope, something that Basquiat had difficulty coping with with heroin
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
I saw that soldier’s faces were lit eerily in the dim light. The sculptures apparel seemed fitting due to the light rain that was falling at the memorial site. I noticed the wall glimmering as the raindrops slid down the glassy surface and fall into the wilting flowers while the images illuminated from the glare of rain and light. I felt this morbid and realistic presence of the soldiers and for a mere second felt the gloom and menace of the war they were in. I walked around the site to gather more information on what the memorial was dedicated to. I walked past the mural wall and as I did I paid particular attention to the various images of people and equipment on the wall. All of the facial expressions of the people on the wall gave the memorial a very real presence to it. I continued walking down the granite walk and I read it was the Korean War Veterans Memorial and immediately got the message the artists were trying to convey. It was very clear that they were showing the public that freedom is not free. The memorial symbolizes the soldiers that have fought for the freedom of others and it recognizes the importance of these actions and
This painting was symbolic politically and artistically because the artist wanted the painting to give an emotion of inspiration towards the African American culture because they want to embrace the different thoughts and ideas. In addition, different types of artworks have different types of meaning to it because it’s what the artist wanted to express towards everyone.
encapsulates the futility and horror of war through the use of vivid war images like
...he American Civil War. No matter what, the pictures of war that I’ve seen all have the same sad, hopeless, and tired expression of the soldiers that have fought that I think the painter was trying to show. This expression that has been like boulders on the shoulders of the soldiers won’t just go away, but I see it outside of the war as well; the wars of everyday life. It’s almost as if these warriors’ heavy hearts were so heavy that it physically weighed their bodies down to a shrug. I think that John Singer Sargent wasn’t sent to France to just capture the aftermath of World War I, but to capture the feeling that people have after their own wars. I think this heavy hearted and sorrow feeling that is expressed in this picture wasn’t just painted for this particular war, but to represent the wars people like us, the soldiers, fight in everyday life in our own war.
In the movie, Apocalypse Now, based on the Vietnam War, the director portrays the reality of war, a very traumatic place, and leads viewers through the painful reality that left many warriors with everlasting nightmares and disturbing memories. As is most great war-related films, the overarching message is pointed towards viewer understanding of the Vietnam War. The director did this by exemplifying the positives and negatives of the war, so that all viewers can learn from these historical events and prevent similar wars in the future. The director uses many literary elements in Apocalypse Now such as setting, characterization, and theme to further the understanding of the message.
War has always been inevitable throughout the history of the world. The outcomes can differ greatly; it’s usually either a win or a loss. Wins or losses are just definite statements, but photos can represent these statements. Alfred Eisenstaedt’s “V-J Day in Times Square” shows an American sailor kissing a young woman right in the middle of Times Square, despite their surroundings. This iconic photo was taken after the U.S. declared victory over Japan in World War II, and was published in Life magazine a week later. John Gap’s (III) photo shows a young girl being consoled at a soldier’s funeral in a local high school gymnasium, later to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. This humble photo was taken during the war still raging in Afghanistan, showing that these types of losses happen quite often, as there are no iconic photos for Afghanistan compared to the photo shot after the win over World War II. Unlike its counterpart, this photo was published only at a local level on a website. Both these photos show a soldier being dismissed to go home from war. Although the two photos share that common factor, the scenario in which the soldier comes home differs greatly. Through these photos, Albert Eisenstaedt and John Gaps III help evoke pathos and give the observer a sense of the pride and the devastation felt of a home coming from war using photographic elements such as framing, focus, and angles.
The title of the painting, “The Face of War” gives a very clear understanding of what this painting is supposed to represent. When looking at the deeper meaning however, one has to consider the context of the painting. Because it was made during both a civil war-capital letters?? and the Second World War, many aspects of these wars are reflected upon in this piece.
The first visual impression of Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet is on the right side of a long hallway within the New Kingdom portion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are two Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet statues in front of a fake door made of dark brown wood. The view of the statue is clear from the front and the sides. The back is not able to be seen well because of its placement against the wall and the barrier to the side of the statue. Along the walls there are many pieces of Egyptian wall art and short barriers so no one steps in front of the art.