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Analysis Of Here Everything Is Still Floating

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Max Ernst was an artist who experimented outside of the comfort zone when expressing his artistic abilities in his working years, from 1891 to 1976. His work reflects his involvement in, first dada, then surrealism, and his preferred medium, oil on canvas. Ernst once said "Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.”i Ernest lived during a time of political, economic and social upheaved in Europe. He became a soldier in WWI, and this experience had a deep impact on his future work. He was mostly concerned with the modern world being irrational. These issues he experienced in-person, made him believe the world was not the way it should …show more content…

Sometimes the impact is obvious, through the use of images from the war, like the chemical bomb in the piece titled Here Everything Is Still Floating (1920). Some of these works might need a little more thorough examination to identify the meaning behind them, because the references are abstract, such as in the series of works from 65 Maximiliana (a culmination of Ernst’s engagement with illustrated books). We know this reference because the use of imagery he uses directly compares to scenes from the war. It still does, however captures the emotion and tone Ernst is still trying to convey by this use of imagery, color tones and analysis. The first work that drew my attention was a piece titled Here Everything Is Still Floating made in 1920 with the use of cut-and-paste printed paper and pencil on printed paper on card stock. This small, 6x8 inch work has a very intense impression when viewed. It was made a few years after the first World War, and is a commentary on that experience. Germany, during the time in which Ernst was found himself serving, was a time where even citizens found themselves in a state of being confused, scared; the events were so sudden, they were not prepared for.v The ground in this piece is an image of an aerial chemical bomb attack that was originally from a book on German military aviation. He also cut out a

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