Kent State, May 4, 1970 (after Goya and Picasso)
Pairing:
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
The Third of May by Francisco Goya
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 48" x 75"
Artist's Insights:
Q. The title of this painting refers to the Kent State shootings, which occurred the same year it was painted. How do the pairings you have chosen relate to this tragic event in American history?
A. It came about because of how deeply I was affected by the Kent State incident in which many students were injured and some killed while protesting the Vietnam War. As soon as I heard the news, I went into my studio. In a few hours, I had the concept. I would use both Picasso's "Guernica" and Goya's "Third of May" and I would fuse them together.
Picasso's painting depicts in an excruciating manner the bombing of the small Spanish town of Guernica in 1937 by German bombers allied with Spain's General Franco. Among the figures depicted is a woman falling out of a window, others clutching babies lying limp in their arms, crying out in pain, and wounded men lying on the ground, with severed arms and skeletal, bony hands still grasping their broken weapons.
The Goya painting always haunted me as well. The soldiers were faceless and therefore anonymous, only following orders, as it is often said. It is a coincidence that the massacre Goya depicted occurred on May 3, 1808.
There can be little doubt that Goya and Picasso, two Spaniards, shared similar outrages at two different, yet similar, incidents in history. And history was repeating itself again.
There are many design elements involved in the juxtaposition. For example, the end of one of the bayonets reaches the horse and stabs it in the heart. The placement of Goya'a lantern and Picasso's head of a woman in the center of the action are exactly where they needed to be. But I actually don't remember pondering about their placement. It was a reflex action because I was so driven by the emotion of the moment.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
The Third of May by Francisco Goya
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 48" x 75"
Artist's Insights:
Q. The title of this painting refers to the Kent State shootings, which occurred the same year it was painted. How do the pairings you have chosen relate to this tragic event in American history?
A. It came about because of how deeply I was affected by the Kent State incident in which many students were injured and some killed while protesting the Vietnam War. As soon as I heard the news, I went into my studio. In a few hours, I had the concept. I would use both Picasso's "Guernica" and Goya's "Third of May" and I would fuse them together.
Picasso's painting depicts in an excruciating manner the bombing of the small Spanish town of Guernica in 1937 by German bombers allied with Spain's General Franco. Among the figures depicted is a woman falling out of a window, others clutching babies lying limp in their arms, crying out in pain, and wounded men lying on the ground, with severed arms and skeletal, bony hands still grasping their broken weapons.
The Goya painting always haunted me as well. The soldiers were faceless and therefore anonymous, only following orders, as it is often said. It is a coincidence that the massacre Goya depicted occurred on May 3, 1808.
There can be little doubt that Goya and Picasso, two Spaniards, shared similar outrages at two different, yet similar, incidents in history. And history was repeating itself again.
There are many design elements involved in the juxtaposition. For example, the end of one of the bayonets reaches the horse and stabs it in the heart. The placement of Goya'a lantern and Picasso's head of a woman in the center of the action are exactly where they needed to be. But I actually don't remember pondering about their placement. It was a reflex action because I was so driven by the emotion of the moment.