Art: White flag?

Can art be considered simply as the expression of beauty, be entirely focused on beauty and express its quintessence? Can art do without reference to beauty? I would say yes! Art is not necessarily a representation of the beauties that surround us and that we wish to reflect. I will go even further, saying loud and clear that art can be a tool of denunciation.

Indeed, art can constitute a communication club, become a tool of denunciation, a grenade or an anti-war detonator somewhere, even a white flag, which by its definition is an international sign of peace, truce negotiation of a belligerent. Are we not all belligerents in the face of the atrocities we experience, in the face of wars in which we are mere passive spectators? Are we not mute witnesses to the growing international conflicts we are experiencing? Because, yes, even if the rest of us have more or less secure living environments, have a roof over our heads, and food and drink at will, others perish, simply trying to have access to primary needs, notably the needs physiological to be able to live with dignity, those identified by Maslow's pyramid.

If we refer to the history of art, we can highlight "Guernica" (1937), the famous work of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso which constitutes one of the most famous paintings in the world reflecting the sufferings of the Spanish War (1937-1939). This monumental oil on canvas in Cubist style (349 cm x 776 cm) represents a committed denunciation by the artist of the bombing of Guernica, which occurred on April 26, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. “Guernica” is a work that had an international political role, becoming a symbol of denunciation and refusal of war in general.

The same goes for our times. Yes, because in the 21st century, history has not evolved well. There are always wars happening all over the world. When some people drink their coffee, quietly seated on their sofa, in front of their fireplace, others are subjected to the deafening noises of the bombings, of the horrors which afflict them. Our subject being art, and as announced in our title: “Art: White Flag? ", let's not move away from it.

I think that artists, or journalists, who take photos, also artistic acts, like cartoonists who wish to shake up public opinion, create works of art. I would like to cite a photo which particularly touched public opinion on an international scale and shocked emotions, the photo of little Aylan which made the front pages of newspapers around the world. This photo that made history was none other than that of little Aylan, a 3-year-old Syrian, stranded on a beach in Bodrum, in the Aegean Sea in Turkey, in the summer of 2015. This photo had an impact. shock wave. Moreover, its author, a Turkish photographer, admitted: “Perhaps my photo was the trigger that the world was waiting for.” This child had simply tried to escape his country at war with his parents and his grandfather. They had wanted to reach Europe, for a better life, but the boat they were on failed. It wasn't just the boat that had failed, it was all of Humanity. This child, who should have been in a secure environment, had nothing to do on this boat with a tragic destination, to which he had been forced, by the political context his country was going through, just like thousands of other children and adults who shared the same destiny. Is it up to an innocent child to pay the debts of a war? Are we so inhumane as to remain silent in the face of such scourges? This question is particularly addressed to politicians, the protagonists in the bloody arena. Perhaps these little hands were destined to paint so that they could become an artist in the future. Didn’t we steal his future? Doesn’t the current world we live in lack humanism? So, when some remain silent in the face of injustices, whatever the nationalities, colors, and beliefs of the people experiencing these injustices, if art can serve as a denunciation, isn't that a privilege?

Writing such comments in the 21st century, in December 2022, at the dawn of 2023, is a shame for the Man with a capital H. It is wishing a better world for our children, the adults of tomorrow , a peaceful world, that I end this article, because "we do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children", as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said so well. So, yes for art: white flag!