Two works that my tour group viewed at the Yale Museum Art Gallery were the “Blam” oil on canvas, which was created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1962 and the “Untitled” felt statue, which was constructed by Robert Morris. Both of these pieces of artwork depict different aspects of life such as war.
The print, “Untitled,” composed of all of the different sizes, lengths, and shapes of felt cutouts caught my eye in a startled and surprised fashion. At first I was almost annoyed that the artist would actually have the nerve to overuse the privilege of his “artistic license” to throw random pieces of felt carpeting together and actually consider it art! But as I kept passing by the carpet structure, I couldn’t help but think of why the artist would have selected those materials to create a compact piece of art. The perspective that I gained as I observed this work was that Morris was trying to convey the different stages, types, and walks of life, as well as the various social classes of society within our changing world. Without all of the different jobs and roles that people take and that citizens play within not only our country, but around the world as well, we as a world would not be able to function. This can be related to aspects in our history class discussions that we’ve had over the course of the year, such as when we read the novel Ordinary Men. In the “imaginary” world that the Nazi men were enclosed in, it was believed that the Jews as well as other classified types of individuals were not essential to the life that existed on earth and that they did not belong or deserve to live. The roles of these fellow citizens were considered worthless and minute. What the Nazis and in particular what Hitler did not understand and fathom correctly, was that a perfect society does not exist and theoretically never can or will, especially if one removes a whole layer or species of life from within the larger picture within society itself. Everybody must count and contribute in order to succeed and thrive together as one whole world in life. This statue does not portray an aspect where one piece of cloth over dominates any other parts of the pieces of the other various smaller pieces of cloth. Yes, they may be a little bit larger or significant in size or length, but just like in life, not one person can solely dominate the world alone. Like this work of art, there has to be some symbolism of uniformity where there are several levels of elements that build upon one another and thrive together in order to accomplish and establish a specific role and or purpose that this is trying to portray. The grey color of the carpeting is rather nondescript, which signifies that when given a grey slate in life, one must build upon it and create one’s own distinct individuality so that uniformity does not take over society. One must stand on their own two feet and not let others overpower them and overrule their dreams or beliefs. It is because of individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. that many citizens have their own freedom today, because they chose to stand their own ground despite the fact that they had to face demeaning consequences. They were selflessly willing to risk their own lives for the future lives to come.
The vibrant and catchy piece of pop art known as “Blam,” is a very influential painting of artwork that really stood out in Yale’s art gallery. It not only symbolized a popular form of art that was being utilized within the early 1960’s, but it also revealed the evils as well as the perils of war and the inevitable violence and tragedy that unfortunately followed along with it. I commend Roy Lichtenstein for taking the time and effort to produce this incredible Benday dot technique, which happened to be popular in commercial printing in order to make large-scale paintings come to life with comic-strip imagery. I really appreciate “Blam” because I feel that the quotation “a picture speaks a thousand words” sums everything up for this work of art. When one stares at this painting even just for a fraction of a second, it becomes quite clear that it portrays the symbolism of both war and death. Ever since planes were invented and were inserted into wartime combat, numerous quantities of soldiers overseas at war have died from plane crashes and invasions. This action picture captures the force, heat, pain, and bravery as well as fear that have been sacrificed tremendously time after time decade after decade, generation after generation when one’s life is taken away. The stars that are located on either side of the wings on the airplane’s wings represent patriotism and the fact that our soldiers have been and still continue to give up their lives for the betterment of ours. In return for their dutiful service and hard work as well as their dedication, society must not only respect, but remember the acts and atrocities that they have had to endure for the betterment of our country. By portraying this painting in a comic strip art form, it is easier to remind the public of what went on everyday in combat on the other side of the world, while the Americans lived safely at home. Sadly it is still the same scenario today, not just in America but throughout the world as well.
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