Conflict and remembrance
Howard’s sculpture is a storyteller walking through various scenes of war within the piece. It starts with the soldiers going off to war and ends with their return. It is a potentially an emotional work as it uses the figurative to draw you closer to the human experience. It gives a strong image , in the sense of confidence in its narrative from the beginning to the end of what it is showing, he process of the evolution of war.
A drawing of the same image would not have the same power, in confronting the viewer. When a human form is put into the piece it almost forces us to confront different possibilities of life because it mirrors our image in a more realistic way. It is not mystical although at the same time, it does not mean that you cannot see something poetic about the piece.
To get such a life-like accuracy Howard uses surrounding cameras and 3D printing which hones in on every detail to bring the figurative true to life.
He uses his own family as models for some of the characters which makes it very personal and educates as it is so true to life.
Sabin Howard’s A Soldier’s Journey,beginning scene due to finished 2024
Guernica is a abstract piece of artwork which was Picasso’s reaction to the Nazi’s bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Within this painting there is symbolism ,for example, the bull which stands for destruction, in this case that caused by the Nazis and the horse which symbolises the people of Guernica.
The utilisation of the minimal colours of black, blue and white symbolises a death, sadness, a lack of freedom and disempowerment.
Initially, you could look at the painting quite innocently but when you understand the culture it puts the pieces together. The question to ask is why did Picasso paint it in such a non-direct way. Does this reflect the silencing of the times?
The use of the newspaper within the image tells how the information of that time be it true or false was through the national papers of the times.
Guernica pablo picasso 1937
