World War 2 Influence On Art

 World War 2 Influence On Art

    I chose to write about the Mid-Modern era and specifically the influence of World War 2 on art. The Second World War, which lasted six years from 1939 to 1945, was a horrible battle. Many artists created striking pieces during this time to capture crucial and horrible occurrences. We all know that a period of struggle, sadness, and despair always produces incredible artwork. Humans use art to communicate their feelings and analyze events, as well as to record essential and less important events for future generations. In this exhibit, I will post 6 works that will show and explain how WWII influenced Mid-Modern art.

    As the first artwork of WWII influence, I chose a work by Alan Moore called "Blind man in Belsen". This piece was created in 1947 in Melbourne, Australia. 

    Moore was a member of the Welsh Guards, a British force that took part in the liberation of this famed Nazi prison camp on April 15, 1945. He drew several sketches and drawings, as well as photographs, of the atrocities perpetrated on the mostly Jewish detainees. These served as inspiration for the paintings he finished when he returned to Australia. Moore later stated that he was urged to take photographs because no one would believe what he had seen.

   In this painting you can a blind guy stumbling over decaying remains, using his cane to guide himself through them. The placement of this painting shows the blind man in the middle surrounded by skeletons and people suffering in front and behind him. The painting makes me feel the miserable atmosphere of the camp, as well as the hellish scenes that met the men who arrived at these camps, are almost too accurately shown in Allan Moore's painting. I think that Moore created this painting in gray tones to show how hard feelings this scene made him feel. In my opinion, the artist did a great work of using black and white when painting the clouds and the lighting. Lastly, I want to mention that the blind man has his arm tied up which makes this painting look even more tragic. 

    As the second work, I chose "Liberation and Battle of France: Jig Beach looking towards Le Hamel" on the 7th of June 1944. It was created by Anthony Gross in Le Hemel, Calvados, France. 

    Gross followed the Royal Army Service Corps over the Channel to Normandy for D-Day on June 6, 1944. With the 50th Division, Gross landed on Gold Beach near Bayeux. Jig Green, Jig Red, King Green, and King Red were the names of four beaches that ran from Le Hamel to La Riviere.  He drew pencil illustrations of troops disembarking on the beaches while waiting for his turn to arrive. He leaped into the sea two hours later, holding his watercolors and paper above his head.

    This work shows how the world was taken by armies and forces and the placement of it depicts the armed forces with tanks, ships, and a fence surrounding a sign that says "Minen" warning people that there are still landmines there. The colors of this piece show how depressing the times were. In my opinion, the artist drew the sketch and on purpose made it messy to show the mess that the war created. The artist also did a great job of using watercolors and blending the scene. This painting makes me feel heavy-hearted for all the destruction that the war created. 

    L.S Lowry created the oil painting 'Blitzed Site' in 1942. Lowry served as a fire watcher in Manchester during WWII and was normally stationed on the roof of a department store in the city center. 

    In the work, you can see the site which is littered with the ruins of demolished structures, with grey smoke rising from the ashes. A red structure on the left side of the Blitzed Site still survives, accentuating the contrast between what was and what was not. I think that the colors were chosen purposely to show that the gray smoke symbolizes wreckage and the read house that jumps out to the viewer shows that there was a town there before the war. In my opinion, the artist shows a great contrast in this work with how much damage the war did not only to the buildings but also to people. Lowry's "matchstick men" appear to be searching through the wreckage, while others, particularly the man in the foreground who stares directly at the viewer, appear shocked and puzzled. This painting makes me feel despair because my home country was also ruined during WWII and it reminds me of the stories my grandparents told me about the war. 

    This work was created in 1941 by Graham Sutherland in London, England. It is called "The City: A fallen lift shaft". The scene depicted in this painting is located just north of St Paul's Cathedral in London. The only remains of a once-soaring structure is a liftshaft, which, according to Sutherland, "resembled a wounded tiger in a Delacroix painting" in its lateral fall. A city disfigured by dust, rubble, and fire is depicted in the shadows, which are only illuminated by a flaming orange. Sutherland did a great job of painting the lighting in this work. The only light comes from the fire which keeps burning down the city. The ruins are placed in front of the light in this piece and it shows how powerful the fire is as the light is breaking through the lift shaft. The artist did a great job by reflecting the light on the construction. This work just like other works of WWII makes me feel disappointed as people ruined so much because of people trying to gain power over other countries, which only created destruction. 

    "Shelter Experiments, near Woburn, Bedfordshire" is a drawing by John Piper. It was created in 1943 in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, UK. Pipers' work at the time was defined by ''Shelter Experiments,'' which allowed him to explore the shelters' basic architectural structures, which are arranged in a rough circle like an otherworldly Stonehenge. In my opinion, the painting depicts the mess that people were leaving behind to win the war and gain power. So many resources were lost and destroyed to prepare and survive the war. 

    The scene gives me an apocalyptic feeling, with the only evidence of humanity being the church visible in the background. The crater in the earth from an experimental explosion is set in the foreground and the gloomy sky really sets the tone for this work. The landscape seems blank and hopeless. I think that the artist did an amazing job on the reflection of the crater water. This is my favorite work of WWII as it has a deep meaning but at the same time, it is not as graphic as other works of the time. 

    As my last work that was influenced by WWII, I chose "A House Collapsing on Two Firemen" by Henry Leonard Rosoman. This painting was created in 1940 in London, England. As a fellow fireman, Rosoman witnessed the awful sight in Shoe Lane in the City of London. The falling wall leaves a trail of confusion and disorder in its wake, its own rigid structure on the verge of collapsing and killing the firefighters still gripping their hoses.

    I chose this work because it visually attracted me. In my opinion, the artist did a great job showing the motion of the wall collapsing and the shreds of the building flying. I think that the red color was chosen to show that the firefighters are surrounded by fire. The artist also did a great job of shading. The placement of the wall falling upon the firefighters has not broken yet as it seems like the firefighters still have a chance of survival. This painting makes me feel the courage of these firefighters who are willing to give up their lives to save others during a hard time of war.  

    Overall, the pieces that were created during WWII seem very dark and depressing to me as I focused more on works that were made in Europe where a lot of damage was done. I have heard many things about the time of war by my grandparents and of how tough it was during the time of war as it influenced human behavior and mental state as well as art.

Sources:

“." Americans at War. . Encyclopedia.com. 26 Oct. 2021 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 18 Nov. 2021, https://www.encyclopedia.com/defense/energy-government-and-defense-magazines/visual-arts-world-war-ii.

“The Art of World War II - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/kgLCucQL-JTiLA.

“The City: A Fallen Lift Shaft - Sutherland, Graham (OM) - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-city-a-fallen-lift-shaft-sutherland-graham-om/7wFHBL7Ed5YT9w?ms=%7B%22x%22%3A0.5%2C%22y%22%3A0.5%2C%22z%22%3A9.78506148996809%2C%22size%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A1.3514136125654455%2C%22height%22%3A1.2375000000000007%7D%7D.

“L. S. Lowry Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/lowry-ls/.

Minich, Fiona J, and Matthew Bonner. “Wwii Art.” History of World War II Study Program, 4 June 2019, https://u.osu.edu/wwiihistorytour/tag/wwii-art/.