For all who enjoy making lists.
Last winter I learned about a project called called the “Art Top 5” in which some people were looking for bloggers to create a blog post that shared their favorite art or artists in each of five categories: painting, photography, film, song or song artist, and performing art. Making lists is something I enjoy anyways, so here was my contribution.
painting: Guernica by Picasso In the 1970’s the Guernica hung at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Purportedly Picasso refused to allow its return to Spain until his homeland was a republic. All who had the opportunity to see the 11 foot tall by nearly 26 foot wide painting in person were rightfully moved. I certainly was.
The painting is a statement against fascism, showing the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces on 26 April 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.(1)
It’s quite impossible to really select a single painting out of the vast sea of historically significant works. Nevertheless, there are certain artists who have produced a remarkable impact on the times they lived in, and the artists who lived in those times. In the 20th century few have equalled the output and influence of Pablo Picasso.
photography: Matthew Brady
I tip my hat to the photographers whose devotion to capturing the glory that is nature has resulted in the enrichment of all of us. Growing up on reading National Geographic, we didn’t catch their names but the work produced created images we never forgot. Of peers I tip my hat to the work of John Heino, who has been capturing and sharing (via social media) images of astonishing beauty.
