The Art Which Pierces Your Heart Through
Because of the complicity and ambiguity of the topic, the issue of war has always been the one to avoid in culture and art. However, modern artists tend to shed some light on the events which occurred during the times of enmity and murder. One of those artists, Ash Kyrie, is the person whose works are pierced through with the pain and suffering which people had to take as the all-consuming was reigned in the world.
If there is a single emotion except horror which war can cause, it must be the desperate fury. This is what the entire picture is sewn through, its every inch telling the story of the people who had to face the terror clasping around their necks. The details of the picture tell much more than the war chronicles collection.
One of the first things to pay attention to in the graphics is the color palette. Kyrie has deliberately chosen the dark shades of colors, with the khaki color prevailing, to depict the gloomy atmosphere of death. The green color which is slowly changing into the red one shows most openly that the war which begins with bravura marching and with the patriotic speeches about the strength of the army etc. finally ends up with blood of millions of people shed.
As the eyes of the spectator get accustomed to the unusual color cast, (s)he sees the details of the picture more distinctly. The soldier in the picture, holding a gun in his hands, and the two children stained with something red – can this be blood? – look as if they have been cut out the WWII scenery and carved in the modern lithography to remind people of the cruel times.
The way the picture opens in front of the spectator, like a flower, is truly miraculous. Taking a closer look at the picture, one can swear that the people’s faces in it start taking shapes and expressions.
The soldier does not look scary anymore – it is clear now that he is one of those fighting against the brown plague – and seems even kind. The concerned glance which he casts at the children in this parental what-is-to-become-of-them manner is more than words can tell. Meanwhile, the child in front is about to stretch his hands in the gesture of unceasing hope.
Reading Between the Dabs of the Author’s Brush
In spite of the fact that interpreting author’s ideas shifts analytics into the sphere of guesswork, the art concerning war is the sphere where almost all people’s viewpoints collide in agreement. The artists of the post-war period speak of the frightening uselessness of war, and Ash Kyrie is no exception. In his artworks, the mean face of the old witch looks even more repulsive, but unlike the other artists, he communicates a very important idea. The war will finally end someday, he says, and the sun will shine as bright as ever.
It is quite peculiar that the picture does not even allow to suggest where the scene takes place. The setting takes the audience to Europe, there is no doubt about that, but where exactly does it? The author decided to keep silent about it, and so did the picture. However, it is impossible even to tell if the situation takes place in the street or somewhere else. The dark-green with a dab of browning and reddish palette closes the curtain without letting people take a closer look at the place.
However, would anything happen if Kyria chose a specific place to put these characters in? It seems that if Kyria added some more details to make the place more distinctive, it would have swept away the feeling of pain which the picture is breathing with. Locating the characters in the picture in a particular place would have killed the idea of the ubiquity of war.
With this vagueness Kyria‘s work obtains the traits of the world’s inconstancy and uncertainty. The world is wobbling, it is literally falling apart, and there is nothing that people can do about it.
Another thing to pay special attention to is the dabs of red color on the images of children. Trying to make people conceive the tragedy of WWII, Kyria makes it obvious that the witch does not spare anyone, and even children have to taste pain like the adults do. Reminding of the blood of the innocent shed because of someone’s peculiar idea of justice, Kyria makes people see the terror of the war with their eyes wide open. It seems that the picture is not merely an image of the war, but the door to the other world.
The most peculiar thing about this picture is that the characters in it are somewhat opposed to each other. The armed soldier who is going to kill the enemy is an antipode of the children who are completely unaware of what pain is, and who cannot even think of making one feel pain, not to mention killing someone. In addition, the faces of the children are exposed into the open, while the face of the soldier remains unclear. One more thing which makes a difference between these characters is their position in the picture.
Despite the fact that a picture can only freeze certain moment, it can show something or someone in their dynamics. Thus, it is clear that the soldier in the picture is moving – he is walking, pacing the land wide, while the children are standing still, merely watching him. This sets somewhat surreal atmosphere in the picture, reminding of the way memories pass slowly in complete silence.
With the specific techniques of drawing, Kyria has achieved amazing result. With the splash-like effect, looking as if someone threw a stone in the pool of mud, the lithography expresses the author’s attitude to the war. Kyria makes it obvious that war is an extremely dirty business, a dirty rag stained with blood.
Lingering Between War and Piece: Reflections
Although WWII is one of those epochs which are the history pits filled with anguish and suffering, Kyria’s work makes people take a look at the tragic events from the perspective of hope. With the talent of his, Kyria allows people to plunge deep into the past and take a few lessons out of the tragic mistakes made. With help of his pictures, people will be able to re-evaluate the things which happened during the WWII.
Indeed, Japan and its role in the WWII was quite infamous, as well as the results which were triggered by the Allies victory. Devastated, ruined and abandoned, Japan was as miserable as the rest of the countries. This must have found its expression in the modern art, which Kyria has shown in the most explicit way. As Gruhl said,
Massive armies with modern weapons, including death- and destruction-dealing aircraft, erased the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians alike. Actually, over 60 percent of the deaths were civilians. (24)
With such statistic data, it is no wonder that the hard-won victory could be actually equal to defeat if considering the losses taken. The pain of losing the people whom one was so used to see, the fear of what would happen the next day and the unsteady world were enough to break even those of the strongest will.
However, people have found the way out of this terrifying maze, which the picture conveys clearly. Speaking of the triumph which came with the stinging feeling of loss, Kyria emphasizes that even the most painful experiences must be kept in people’s minds so that the awful mistakes could not be repeated over again.
Works Cited
Gruhl, W. Imperial Japan’s World War Two: 1931-1945. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 2010. Print.