David Alexander Colville History

“Facing It” by the American black poet Yusef Komunyakaa of Shreveport is written with the use of visual images. Yusef Komunyakaa writes about one of his many trips to the Vietnam's Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. This Memorial is a long polished slab of black reflectant granite with the names of all the US soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. Yusef says “my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite”. Here Yusef uses his reflection in the wall to bring the reader back to the war and how he feels standing at the wall now. He makes his feeling ambiguous and give the reader the opportuntity to decide what he is feeling through his use of viual images.

In Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War, the haunting image “Harvest of Death” catches one’s eye with the seemingly endless field of corpses. The jarring facial expression on the figure in the foreground draws one into the narrative of the piece. However, our initial understanding of the image’s narrative is limited to what we can see and what we know of the circumstances surrounding it. While we know it was taken during the American Civil War, by simply looking at the photograph, we cannot know who is depicted. In black and white, it is difficult to even tell what side of the conflict these fallen soldiers fought for. We can interpret the image for our own readings, but we cannot tell what the artist intended us to see or what message he wanted to impart with it. These unknowns, however, are addressed in the related text associated with the image. These short passages can tell us a great deal about the photographer’s intentions and influence the way we read the image. Through the excerpt, we not only learn the intended meaning of the photography, but we also learn about Gardner’s political intentions and the key points he wanted his viewers to note within the image. Published as a pair, Gardner used his text to contextualize his images and inform the way we perceive them. This is clearly illustrated in “A Harvest of Death” and its accompanying passage.

Everyday men and women die in the most brutal way possible away from their family either killed from gun shots or landmines and they do come back. But in caskets, as images like these emphasize the destruction of war and these snaps just show the side effects of humankind's worse anger being shown. In the Article “The Stranger in the Photo Is Me”, Donald M. Murray expresses how harsh it really was in the war and how it changed himself forever and not in a good way. Not to mention, that he describes the way he felt ready to go to war, maybe even excited, but he wishes that horror on no one “I would not wish for a child or grandchild of mine to undergo the blood test of war” as the sacrifice these men and women go through is undeniably tremendous

In 1770, artist Benjamin Wolfe completed what would become his most controversial and talked about piece of artwork, an oil on canvas painting titled The Death of General Wolfe, the purpose of which was to teach a moral lesson. The Death of General Wolfe portrays the Battle of Quebec, but more specifically it details the moment when Major General James Wolfe was on his deathbed shortly after the British had driven the French away in victory. Although this piece is considered to be historical since it details a true event, the details in it prove to be fabricated for the sake of art.

Between 1900 and 1929, Canada became significantly more autonomous socially, politically, and economically from Britain and the United States; however, there were still times where Canada’s autonomy had decreased due to Canada’s dependence on Britain and the United States. Canada had gained political autonomy from Britain when it was officially and internationally recognized as an independent nation. Economically, Canada was very reliant on British and American investment. However, Canada’s social autonomy had increased because of the first world war and entertainment, like art and literature. Politically, Canada’s autonomy had increased greatly from 1900 to 1929.

Art in World War I was observed in many forms, from photography to art movements on the home fronts of many countries. What many people did not realize is that art was also used in the war for battle. Propaganda and camouflage were crucial to the success on the battlefield and they were used and produced in ways not normally seen in history before. Propaganda had existed before WWI but was used heavily in this war and was often negatively themed, to promote involvement in a war against the evil enemy. Complex camouflage of machinery, ships, and uniforms also arose during the Great War, and this

how beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. In War is a Racket, the

Through the cultural frame, artworks are concerned with understanding how an artwork is influenced by the values of the society it is produced in, and, in turn, how the artwork influences the values of the society. This includes examining the historical and cultural context in which the work was made, and religious and/or philosophical beliefs, which may have influenced the work. Plate 1, ‘Corpse in Barbed Wire’ 1924 is a German Expressionist etching by Otto Dix, reflecting war and. His works document the reality of the through the subject matter and positioning. He uses abstraction of form to represent the effects and perceptions of war. The work is also an example of German expressionism, a popular art movement at the time it was created.

An artist's job is to interpret, and express the aspects of life in a creative fashion. War has played a big part in shaping our human history, and many artists have portrayed their feelings about art through paintings, and even monuments. Whether it be to show; the joy of victory, the sorrow of defeat, or to educate the public on the gory realities of war. Art about war can also show us a great amount of history of the kinds of weapons that were used at the time. It is necessary for artists to interpret, and criticize all aspects of life; even ones as tragic as war, It can make the public more aware of what goes on in times of war.

Jacob Lawrence, an African American artist, produces two best-known collections like the Migration Series and War Series. Showing in the website, fourteen over sixteen panels are the War Series. Jacob’s War Series described his experiences that he joined the gallery during World War II. Jacob Lawrence painted the War Series when he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1964. Drawing the outline of an object and filling in some uniform color, he was exposing the signified of situation and people’s feeling. War Series: The Letter is an art works I like the best. The picture shows a letter on a black table and a man who presses the black table by his hands. The man is lower his head. I can feel that after he reads the letter, he is very sad. Perhaps,

Painters enormously manipulated the truth in their portraits they painted since they aimed to present a specific meaning or feeling to their observers. One of the results, paintings of America`s wars especially before the Civil War had a

Believe it or not, artists were actually intended to be used in World War II. They were used to create various types of camouflage for armor and vehicles(The Ghost Army, 2013). In 1943 however, Americans were called into battle and began their journey to Britain for the upcoming invasion to take France back. During this time the British and

The exhibit contained upwards of 20 photographs and at least 60 paintings. One of the most agreeable things about the works of art that I witnessed is that collectively, they assisted in recounting the sentiment that gripped the country during the war that threatened to sunder it. One could almost feel the initial enthusiasm as the war broke out, that was swiftly prolonged by numerous clashes over a period of years. There were works that alluded to an impending war, ones that depicted that war, and numerous ones that hinted at a hoped for ending in which the mightiness of the country would someday be restored.

Images, such as paintings and photographs, are intensely visually striking and evoke strong emotions in those who view them.“Into the Jaws of Death” provides a perfect example of that intensity, having been taken by Robert F. Sargent during the early morning hours of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Even today the famous photograph evokes strong emotional reactions in many people who view it. This photograph served a purpose more significant than was realized at the time, to the point of becoming a pivotal point in support for the war effort. How was this accomplished? By conveying personal themes of heroism, patriotism, and mortality through devices such as angles, colors, uniforms, and proxemics.

In war, photography and art again serve the purpose of acknowledging and sometimes protesting suffering. In the First World War cameras were used for military intelligence, to capture an event. "The caption of a photograph is traditionally neutral informative: a date, a place, names." A photograph is supposed to just record what happened and not takes sides. However, "it is always the image that someone chose; to photograph is to frame, and to frame is to exclude." So the photograph is supposed to be neutral, but the photographer is still deciding what details to focus on. The caption has just facts on it, because supposedly that is what the photograph is recording. While it is true that photographs cannot explain everything themselves, they do serve as visual aids to, what otherwise be, a pallid world.