Posted on: 06 February, 2020
Author: Siona Benjamin
Art is a part of our lives. Art that changed the world holds a special place in our hearts and our culture. Let's look at some paintings that changed the art world and pop culture. Art is an important representation of our culture, ideals, and values. In the past, many famous paintings depicted the rich, famous, and royal. As culture shifted, landscapes and everyday, regular life became an important art movement to represent the masses. It’s this impact and representation that art brings that makes it so important for our culture as a whole. With this in mind, let’s look at art that changed the world… and continues to change the world today. The Two Fridas - Frida Khalo, 1939 It was hard to pick just one Frida Khalo piece since her work is known for its emphasis on cultural identity art, representations of minority groups, and combining her intersectional identities into single pieces. This painting depicts two self-portraits: one dressed traditionally and sad, the other dressed in clothes modern for the time with a resolute and independent stare. It’s believed that this represents the two sides of herself that are uniting: they’re holding hands and are both displaying their hearts on their sleeves (well, their dresses, but you understand the meaning). The reason why this art, and the rest of Frida Khalo’s art, changed the world is because she was truly unique and revolutionary. Khalo was able to represent a group that is often underrepresented in canonically appreciated art: women. Not only that, but she seamlessly incorporated her experience as a woman of color into her art as well. Her art showed that you can fully represent your unique and individual identity without creating art so customized that it doesn’t resonate. In fact, the reason her art resonates and changed the lives of so many is because it was so accessible thanks to the honesty, truth, and authenticity she brought to her work. Femmes Métamorphosées, Les sept arts - Salvador Dalí, 1957 Hotel art is usually not something to write home about, but that’s not the case with The Dolder Grand hotel. Inside their hotel restaurant they have one of Dalí’s most impactful paintings: Femme Métamorphosées. Dalí is most well-known for his surrealist painting with themes of time, death, and memory. The reason this art, and Dalí’s art in general, changed the world is because it opened the door for more imagination and surrealist art to hit the mainstream. This painting, for example, shows various half-woman half-insect creatures transcending the world, floating in the sky. This allowed many artists to feel as though they could create what they wanted no matter how strange or non-mainstream it was. Black Square - Kazimir Malevich, 1915 Similar to Dalí, this painting by artist Kazimir Malevich opened the door for more similar art to enter the world. “Black Square” is just that: a simple black square. It’s minimalistic style would remind you of popular trends today, but in 1915 this was far from accepted as “art”. This painting is considered to be the first piece of art that isn’t “of” anything. While surely there are other examples out there, Malevich’s contribution to abstraction and minimalism in art can be traced right back to this simple, 1915 painting. Guernica - Pablo Picasso, 1937 While Black Square and Dalí’s work were more impactful in terms of the art world, Picasso’s Guernica is more alike to Khalo in that it represented a significant cultural phenomenon. This painting depicts the harsh realities of war, specifically the bombing of a Spanish city (Guernica) during the Spanish Civil War. The entire painting is in varying shades of grey, which gives off a feeling of sadness and death. The terror and fear in the peoples’ and animals’ eyes is clear even in Picasso’s distinctive abstract style. The painting has come to represent anti-war philosophy. It exposed the death and sadness that war brings all over the world, and it remains relevant to this day. It now hangs in the United Nations’ headquarters in New York City, perhaps as a reminder to world leaders what can happen if they can’t reach a peaceful agreement. The Problem We All Live With - Norman Rockwell, 1964 Norman Rockwell is one of America’s most famous painters. He created this famous painting in 1964 during the heart of the civil rights movement. It depicts a small black girl (a real girl named Ruby Bridges) being escorted to school by security guards. This small girl in an innocent white dress was the victim of hate, slurs, and violent threats simply because she dared to go to a white school after integration was written into law. A tomato splattered on the wall, four huge men escorting a small child just so she can go to school, and the name of the painting itself called out the racism and violence that was erupting around the country. This painting showed that even small children are affected by this, and it truly cemented racism as an American pastime. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com Siona Benjamin creates multicultural art with Jewish, Indian, and religious inspiration.