Political Statements and Forms of Expression: Poetry and Painting

Art

"Howl" and "Guernica" Outline

The paper demonstrates the ways in which both pieces of art contemplate and express multiple themes, including those of religion, morality, happiness, life-affirmation, and freedom.

"Howl" is a poem that is both a mourning and a celebration of life.

"Guernica" is an expression of pain and war.

Both works of art have many themes and many of the same themes.

Ginserb, the 1950s, and "Howl"

He composed the poem in the middle of the 1950s, one of the greatest decades in history for mainstream America.

He is heavily influenced by previous poets and by his own lived experiences.

Howl" shows readers how they can be connected to spirituality, religion, and what is sarcred or holy with, and without the use of the formal church.

Poetry is another form of storytelling that is best when read/performed aloud.

Howling, Expression, and Jazz

A. If we are howling, either out of pain or out of pleasure, we are alive and we are having strong feelings.

B. Poetry is a form of creative expression; this poem is a howl of words.

C. He is howling for his whole generation, not only himself.

D. The poem is an individual expression and a communal expression.

E. "Howl" is a form of verbal jazz.

F. Jazz heavily influences the poem just as much as other authors and contemporary experience.

G. "Howl" is a signal of change.

IV. Picasso, Horror, and Pain

A. The painting is of war, which is an alert to themes of morality and freedom.

B. The word "horror" refers to the emotional and psychological content of the piece, though it is literally a horror the viewer beholds.

C. The painting is a cubist expression of a negative reality -- art is imitating life.

D. The content of the painting shows the horrors of war on the average citizen's everyday reality.

V. Color, Perspective, & The Purpose of Art

A. The painting is in black and white because that is how Picasso sees the issues of war in his country.

B. The painting became a symbol of the horrors of war around the world.

C. On the subject of "Guernica," Picasso once wrote, "Painting is not done to decorate apartments; it is an instrument of war."

D. Art is wild and art is a weapon, as much as it is a tool for communication.

VI. Conclusion

"Howl" and "Guernica" are pieces of that are political statements that express several themes. Some of the themes in these works included life affirmation, religion, freedom, happiness and morality. Poets have the ability to paint with words, and painters have the ability to make pictures "worth a thousand words."

Paper Summary

The paper analyzes two pieces of art. One is a painting and one is a poem. Art analysis is very challenging. Analyzing poetry is a significant challenge, which the paper attempts to perform. Painting is also challenging, but it is an art form people are more accustomed to analyzing, or can do so, generally, with greater ease. The paper analyzes "Howl" and "Guernica" by looking closely at where and when they were created. The paper also analyzies them by looking closely at the authors themselves, as well as their chosen expression of art.

The paper's first section is about "Howl." This is a poem that is several decades old. Even so, this poem is still relevant today. The analysis begins with a description about the environment in which the poem was written. The paper also pays close attention to the oral tradition that is a part of poetry because Ginsberg is very aware of the poem as a piece of writing, the poem as a story to be told, and an experience that is supposed to be lived out in the real world.

The paper continues on with the analysis and description of "Guernica" by Picasso. This is a very famous painting about war. The paper explains why this is true and there are several reasons. The political nature of the painting is very prominent. The paper explains how the painting is more than a painting, and more than a political statement about war -- it is also a statement about the function of all pieces of art. The painting and the artist are an argument for peace, happiness, and morality -- themes also shared by "Howl."

The paper concludes with somewhat of a philosophical reflection upon art, writing on art, and the intentions of art overall.

Themes of Life Affirmation and War: Analyzing "Howl" & "Guernica"

Poetry and painting are forms of art produced by humans with an extensive history around the world. Some of the greatest and most famous works of art are those that have direct relationships with experienced reality, with other artworks, and with other events in the present. The artworks to be examined in this paper are two such examples of well-crafted art, though of different genres and different forms. The paper will identify themes in two works of art. One work of art to be discussed is the poem "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg. The other work of art to be discussed is a painting called "Guernica," by Pablo Picasso. The paper will provide some context within which the artworks were produced and are analyzed. "Howl" is a poem that is both a mourning and a celebration of life. This is a poem that is life-affirming, claiming that there are so many reasons to be grateful and so many places in which people may find religion without an institution such as church. "Guernica" is an expression of pain and war, which was happening in Spain at the time Picasso painted this image. The paper demonstrates the ways in which both pieces of art contemplate and express multiple themes, including those of religion, morality, happiness, life-affirmation, and freedom.

Poet Allen Ginsberg composed "Howl" in 1955 and it was published by City Lights Books of San Francisco, CA the following year. He composed the poem in the middle of the 1950s, one of the greatest decades in history for mainstream America. It had been a decade since the American and Allied victory in the second world war. Numerous American men returned home to a country in much better shape than expected, with many women having entered the workforce to keep the economy and industry alive in their absence. The spoils of war were great and America saw a great era of prosperity and domestic, suburban bliss. More interstate highways were constructed. Many more cars were produced and bought. It was a classic era for mainstream American culture in the 1950s. Yet in the haze of the suburbs, expansion of television, growth of Hollywood, and cars, present here were the seeds of rebellion and counterculture that was more indicative of the following decade, 1960s. One such seed is the poem in question, "Howl."

Certainly, the medium of "Howl" is writing -- it is the written word. Ginsberg sat at his typewriter and typed the words onto paper, assembled the papers together, and published the collection of words as a book. Therefore, his medium is writing in the form of poetry. Poetry though, as known throughout history, is meant to be more than just read from a book. Poetry is meant to be lived as often the best and most memorable poetry comes directly from lived experience.

"Howl" shows readers how they can be connected to spirituality, religion, and what is sarcred or holy with, and without the use of the formal church. In the final section of the poem, Ginsberg declares the holiness of everyday and everyone, even his unstable mother who died from lobotomy surgery in a mental institution. (Ginsberg, 1956) Bringing a keen sense of the sacred and the holy to everyday life is inspiring and somewhat religious in of itself. Thus, there is a vivacity in the poetry that begs to be lived out through the experiences of the people who were touched or inspired by "Howl." His energy to love everything and appreciate the sacred in the everyday contributes to the theme of life affirmation.

Poetry is meant to be read aloud. The poem is meant to be heard. Poetry is as much a part of the written tradition as it is a part of the oral tradition. Poetry is another form of storytelling and "Howl" certainly is a story that Ginsberg is bursting to tell. Ginsberg read the poem to small audiences in San Francisco prior to the publishing, as well as after it, when the piece gained attention and notoriety. (Ginsberg, 1956)

Part of the power and impact of "Howl" are the sounds and the transmission of vigor and excitement from the writer to the reader when the words are spoken or heard aloud. The title of the piece is "Howl," which already calls to mind the auditory and the sense of hearing. Howls are meant to be read; howls are meant to be heard. Howls can additionally be a symbol or act of freedom from a restriction or when a goal has been achieved. This is another way that "Howl" expresses themes of freedom and happiness.

Many people associate the sound of a howl or the act of a howl with a wolf or a dog. Many people imagine a wolf or dog howling at the moon. Other animals besides dogs and wolves howl, such as howler monkeys, jackals, and coyotes. People have been known to howl as well. A howl is a long, loud cry. Howls express pain -- physical or otherwise. Other emotions that drive howls are anguish, rage, and distress. If we are howling, either out of pain or out of pleasure, we are alive and we are having strong feelings.

Poetry is a form of creative expression; it is a creative way to share one's feelings, experiences, and questions in words. There are times when words do not and cannot effectively describe a feeling or a situation. Sometimes a feeling can only be expressed in dance or in song or in a howl. This is a howl of words. Ginsberg howls for the changes that have happened in America, for the changes that need to happen, and for the changes that will happen. He howls for the freedom to change and move in new directions as an individual and as a society. Ginsberg howls with religious excitement and with a more open sense of morality. He is howling his life experience of loneliness and isolation that does not just apply to his individual experience, but also to that of his entire generation. (Ginsberg, 1956) He is howling for his generation. The expression of his generation is a howl -- a long one, with many themes to be read and interpreted.

The genre of the piece is poetry, what would later be called beatnik poetry. "Howl" is a form of verbal jazz. It is an early form of spoken word, an evolutional predecessor of rap. Yet, the poem also retains elements of classical poetry, lyrical poetry, and epic poetry, forms which are quite old in human terms. Jazz is a part of the style of this poem whether read aloud or silently. The poem as a kind of howl is a form of jazz. The poem may not have existed at all and would certainly not have existed as readers know it today without the existence and presence of jazz. The repetition of words, sounds and lines -- the combination and juxtaposition of imagery and allusion -- these all speak to the movement, feeling, and rhythms of jazz.

Ginsberg also pays homage to the styles of other writers such as Walt Whitman and Jack Kerouac in his howl. (Ginsberg, 1956) Ginsberg borrows some of the structure and emotional energy from Whitman's poetry and from the burgeoning styles of Kerouac that grew to be classic, iconic, and definitive of the beat generation. Ginsberg's style though, while paying tribute to other forms of poetry, writing, and music, has his own style. This howl is like the first cry from a newborn baby's lungs right after birth. This poem is the howl that signals a new style and a new perspective, as well as the courage to articulate it and share it with others.

In Pablo Picasso's 1937 masterpiece, "Guernica," there are several elements that alert the reader to the artist's feelings regarding war. War is almost immediately associated with themes of freedom (or lack thereof) as well as themes of morality (and ethics). The scene is a horror. Some critics of Picasso's work see his cubist style as horrible in general, though in the case of this question, the word "horror" refers to the emotional and psychological content of the piece, though it is literally a horror the viewer beholds. When looking at the piece all at once, one senses a tension, an urgency, chaos, and grief. The immorality of war directly decreases the happiness of the Spanish people, which is central to the themes and composition of the painting.

This depicts a moment full of many actions occurring simultaneously throughout the work. One the left, a mother roars into the heavens over the death of the child, presumably hers, whose corpse she holds. One the far right, a man seems to wail as flames consume him. Just right of the center, concerned people enter the house with candlelight, with looks of shock and worry upon their faces at the scene they interrupt. A horse, which almost looks as if made from newspaper, stands in the middle of a residence trampling a man, pinned to the ground, to pieces. If the horse were made of newspaper, as it loosely resembles, that would be an interesting choice by Picasso, perhaps metaphorically stating that the news is not the news it is reality.

The choice could express a moment of art imitating life and life imitating art. The content of the painting shows the horrors of war on the average citizen's everyday reality. The primary colors of the piece are black and white. Perhaps this is how the issue is for Picasso: black and white; war is wrong and peace is right. It is that simple for Pablo Picasso. There is also some blue. It is 11 feet tall and 25.6 feet wide, painted in oil. (Raento & Watson, 2000) The piece effectively communicates Picasso's perceptions of war and moral position on the issue. There is so much vigor and energy in the piece; even though the painting is of unhappiness and actions caused out of immorality, his energy in the creation of painting, in some way is also life affirming.

This painting is one of Picasso's most famous works, and partially because it is one of his most powerful and direct political statements. In the name of happiness, and in the name of life affirmation, Picasso adamantly opposed the war in his country. He shows the tragedies of war and show the worst effects, specifically on the innocent people. Over time, this painting gained iconic status and brought attention of the Spanish Civil War from people around the whole world. (Raento & Watson, 2000)