|
As
a working artist I was deeply troubled to hear the following
news. The reproduction of Picasso's famous antiwar mural,
Guernica, hanging at the entrance to the UN Security
Council, was censored in January, 2003.
Picasso
agreed to paint a mural for the Spanish Pavilion of the
1937 International World's Fair. Urged by representatives
of the Spanish Republic (under siege by General Franco and
his Nazi allies), to paint something decrying the fascist
onslaught... Picasso was swayed by one particular horrific
incident. On April 27th, 1937, Nazi war planes obliterated
the little Basque village in northern Spain called Guernica.
Hitler's forces pounded the village from the air for hours,
turning it into a sea of fire and rubble. Over 1,600 civilians
perished in the world's first sustained aerial bombardment
of a civilian population. News
of the massacre reached Paris where Picasso was living.
Newspapers were filled with photographs of the smoldering
ruins of Guernica, and after having seen those photos Picasso
began working on sketches for a mural that was to become
one of his most famous works.
After
the World's Fair the mural was exhibited around the world
to help raise consciousness on the threat of fascism. Once
W.W.II began the mural was housed at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York (though it made frequent trips abroad).
Nelson A. Rockefeller had a large tapestry reproduction
made of the famous mural, and donated it to the UN in 1985.
The original mural is now housed in the Reina Sofia, Spain's
national museum of modern art.
On
January 27, 2003, the Guernica reproduction hanging outside
the entrance of the United Nations Security Council, was
covered with a large blue curtain. Press Secretary of the
UN, Fred Eckhard, said the covering provided "an appropriate
background for the cameras."
Obviously
some were concerned that Picasso's antiwar masterwork would
not make a very good backdrop for speeches and press conferences
advocating the bombing and invasion of Iraq. As the US talks
about it's "shock and awe" strategy (the potential
launching of over 800 Cruise Missiles against Baghdad in
two days), and its willingness to use "bunker busting
nuclear bombs" against Iraq... Picasso's work is a
chilling reminder of what such military operations would
mean for civilian populations. On
Feb. 5th, 2003, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell spoke
before the United Nations to make his case for a US attack
on Iraq. Picasso's mural was completely covered up and the
flags of Security Council member nations were placed before
the censored artwork. As Maureen Dowd, writing for the New
York Times, wrote, "Mr. Powell can't very well seduce
the world into bombing Iraq surrounded on camera by shrieking
and mutilated women, men, children, bulls and horses."
Australian
parliamentary representative Laurie Brereton spoke before
the Australian Parliament on February 4th and said the following.
"There is a profound symbolism in pulling a shroud
over this great work of art. For throughout the debate on
Iraq, whether at the UN, in the US, or here in Australia,
there has been a remarkable degree of obfuscation, evasion
and denial, and never more so than when it comes to the
grim realities of military action."
The
censoring of Picasso's mural is illustrative of art's immense
power. It is a civilizing force that erases national boundaries
and strengthens human solidarity. In particular Picasso's
masterwork continues to aim a laser beam focus on the madness
and inhumanity of war, a message that transcends the barbarity
suffered by a small Basque village in 1937. As Picasso himself
once said, "Art is a lie that tells the truth."
The artist's profound mural still speaks the truth to the
people of the world, so much so that the powerful feel compelled
to censor it.
|
