Sunday, June 29, 2008

Tehran Guernica?


The pen may be mightier than the sword, but only after heads have been chopped off.

Art is powerless to stop war, ameliorate violence. In fact, cartoons can incite violence. Picasso's Guernica bears witness to aerial bombing. Art can tell a story, entertain, keep us human, keep us sane. Art can move, art can observe, art can pay attention, art can shake things up. Art can make us pause, inspire reflection. Art cannot stop things like an invasion of Poland or Iran.

Today's Rune: Defense.

4 comments:

the walking man said...

Let us not forget that art can immortalize history. It is a function of art to keep history in the minds of them viewing it. Guernica does just that. In Detroit it is the industrial mural at the DIA.

Charles Gramlich said...

You're right. Once the bullets start flying, art makes a pretty poor shield.

Lana Gramlich said...

You're absolutely right.

Anonymous said...

Au contraire. The Bible is art. "Love your neighbor" has prevented quite a few wars I'd wager. On the other hand, The Bible has probably started some wars, most notably, because of its sexism, the femininist revolution.--Jaroslav Pelikan