Responding to Images

This response is to La Guernica by Picasso.

     Upon seeing this picture, the first observation I make is that there is a distinct use of contrast. This seemingly deliberate contrast suggests that Picasso wants us to be able to see the various elements of his painting. The initial feeling that this image evokes is that of chaos, tragedy, and destruction. The faces of the humans and animals clearly express a feeling of distress; using Bang's theory, the entire picture provokes an uneasy feeling of chaos because of the plentiful use of vertical lines and shapes. Bang's suggestion that "the upper half of a picture is a place of freedom" leads me to think that this image is not meant to depict any sense of freedom, since the upper half of the picture is much emptier than the lower half; the lower half of the picture does not contain much blank space, which makes the image feel "threatened, heavier, sadder, [and] more constrained." Overall, it's clear that this painting is meant to convey uneasy feelings to the viewer--feelings that can be associated with war, death, distress, and destruction.