Simon Schama's Power of Art Episode on Pablo Picasso - Movie Review Example

Simon Schamas Power of Art episode on Pablo Picasso is one of the eight-part series documentaries on the most significant artworks and their artists.In the episode on Pablo Picasso, Schama discussed Pablo Picasso’s most controversial painting “Guernica” in detail. At the beginning of the documentary, a re-enactment of the rumored confrontation between Picasso and the Gestapo wherein the police searched Picasso’s Paris art studio and found postcards of the artwork “Guernica.” Apparently, the Gestapo asked Picasso if he was responsible for the image in the postcard and slyly the artist retorted that it was they, the Germans, who were responsible for the gruesome carnage. “Guernica” made history not only during Picasso’s time; the disturbing piece still makes history until our present day. The historical value of this piece is undeniable since this painting was the result of the emotions that flooded the artist after the bombing of the small Spanish Basque town of Guernica. The bombing was condemned by many nations and Picasso shared their sentiments surprisingly because he was known as an artist who had no political inclinations. The documentary further mentioned that when Europe was in war, several of Picasso’s contemporary artists one of which is George Grosz use art to convey political messages but Picasso still chose to paint women and other subjects that totally had not even a tiny speck of political leaning. In the documentary, the historical impact of the dreadful bombing of Guernica and the creation of Picasso’s equally impacting piece, “Guernica” made Picasso to finally come out of his self-absorbed world and take his political stand. The little town was bombed in broad daylight and without any warning. The brutality and the slaughter of innocent people of the small Spanish town stirred Picasso having Spanish roots he knew that these innocent people were mercilessly bombed just to show off the power of the Germans who were then seen as political villains. “Guernica” which is 11 feet tall and 25.6 feet wide, was done in black and white that gives the ghastly scene a subtle touch. The dead horses, crying woman with a dead child in her arms, and the chaotic scene would be too harsh to the eyes if it were in full color. The turmoil alone in the piece is enough to arouse emotions and cause disturbance to the viewer as if reliving the horror of the bombing of the small Spanish town. When “Guernica” was finished and exhibited in public in the Paris International Exposition in 1937, it had solicited the expected reactions from the viewers. Purely political in concept, “Guernica” still influences the social and political arena up until today. Schama mentioned that in the United Nations press conference for the war in Iraq wherein U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was to speak before the press, there was a reproduction of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” on the background and they covered the reproduction with a blue cloth. They were worried of the negative implications and the irony it would show to viewers since Powell was speaking of launching war on Iraq while at his back was Picasso’s “Guernica.” This powerful memoir of the horrors of war seemingly reminds them of what happened to the innocent people in Guernica and that war would never solve anything but would just claim and destroy innocent lives. French artist Claude Monets “Waterloo Bridge” at the Denver Art Museum was part of the series the artist started during his trips to London during the 1900s. This piece, which is part of the collection of the Denver Art Museum in their European and American Art Collection, was done on 1903 oil on canvas. An Impressionist painter, Monet captured Waterloo Bridge in his canvasses during different times of the day thus depicting the shadows and colors of the subject in varying degrees. Claude Monet was among the popular Impressionists and one of the founders of this art movement. The terms “Impressionism” was coined from Monet’s painting entitled “Impression: Sunrise.” Monet along with other Impressionist artists, were more focused on capturing the lights and colors of their subject than capturing the image or figure of the subject. As predicted, this innovation in painting style was not well applauded especially by the conservative artists. In his series on the Waterloo Bridge, Monet had painted the bridge in different weather and lighting conditions. Some of the paintings included in Monet’s Waterloo Bridge series are the “Waterloo Bridge, Grey Weather;” “Waterloo Bridge, Overcast Weather;” “Waterloo Bridge, Mist;” “Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect” and “Waterloo Bridge, Dusk” are only some of the pieces that interestingly shows the bridge under different lights. In this painting, the artist shows the shadows reflected in the waters and the sunlight shining on the waters and on the rocks. It is noticeable that the artist used a combination of blue, violet and a tinge of green for the shadow instead of using black. This use of color for shadows instead of using black is one common characteristic of the Impressionists. The oblique lines and the clear brush strokes in the painting gives an impression of movement in the waters as well as the smoke coming from the faint images at the back of the bridge. The waters seem to flow beneath the bridge and the waters appear to ripple under the light of the sun. “Waterloo Bridge” and the other paintings included in this series is one of the best series of paintings done by Claude Monet. The series was very well documented that even in poor lighting conditions, the artist still had captured the shadows, lights and colors of that moment. This series of the Waterloo Bridge appeared to be painted by the artist in remembrance of the place since his trips to London during this period were the last trips Monet made to London. Monet seem to record in painting the memories of the place he wanted to keep. The artist was not actually trying to keep memories of what the bridge looked like but he was depicting and getting hold of the memories of the combination of colors produced by the light conditions which in his years of being an artist, he knew he would not see the same exact colors he had painted at that moment. During his last trips to London, the artist may have the notion that he may never return to London. True enough, Claude Monet passed away in 1926. He had never seen Waterloo Bridge again and he did not get to see the same colors that he had painted during those last trips to London. “Waterloo Bridge” along with the other paintings in the series remains until this day for Claude Monet to tell the viewers about the beauty he had seen during those days when he was painting the bridge in London. “Current3” is Virginia Folkestad’s temporary art installation at Manny’s Bridge in LoDo, located at Wynkoop St. over Cherry Creek. The artist used interactive lights for this installation and was constructed to celebrate Denver’s 150th birthday. This light art installation is a project in collaboration between DOCA and LoDoNA called LoDo Lights. This light installation on the historical Manny’s Bridge helps to highlight the infrastructure that was witness to Denver’s past. The location for this light installation is very much appropriate since this would attract the attention of residents and tourists to the bridge and would be aware of the importance of this structure to Denver’s history. “National Velvet” is located at the Highland Bridge in downtown Denver. John McEnroe using fabricated plastic painted with bright red created this installation piece. At night, this installation art is lit from within. The location for this interesting piece is appropriate giving a perk of red to the area. These sixteen-piece multi-colored spheres are fittingly called “Stimuli,” an installation art by Christopher Weed Each colored sphere is 18” in diameter and fashioned using powder-coasted steel. Located at the Denver Great Kids/ Lowrey Mile High Montessori School, these spheres are attention grabbers for children and even adults. The colorful globes fit the location since it stimulates children and adults to interact with the structures. Luis Jimenez’ “Mustang” at the Denver International Airport is very suitable in its location mainly because it was one of the original art installations commissioned by the Denver Internationa Airport. This piece is made of fiberglass and the artist was known to be the first installation artists to use fiberglass as his medium. “Mustang” is stands 32 feet high and weighs approximately 9000 lbs. It was commissioned on 1993. John Davis’ two-part sculpture constructed with steel and concrete called “Aerial” fittingly placed at the Denver Skatepark The artist created this installation piece reflecting the activities in the park. Read More