Eli Clein Art F200X Blog

     The Vietnam War, like all wars, heavily affected the people, culture, and values of the countries involved. It brought environmental devastation to Vietnam, killed ~500,000 civilians, killed ~58,000 American soldiers, wounded ~153,000 more soldiers, induced PTSD, strengthened communism, tarnished the USA's reputation by showing how corrupt it was, and many other effects ( BBC ). Art was also greatly affected by the war, during and afterward, artists created works showing the horrors of the war or protested the war while happening. Such examples include Claes Oldenburg's Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks , Leon Golub's Vietnam II , Martha Rosler's Red Stripe Kitchen or  Cleaning the Drapes , Peter Saul's Saigon , Jesse's Travino's Mi Vida , and many more. (Oldenburg, Claes  Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks , 1969-74)     Oldenburg, in collaboration with his alma mater, created and placed Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar T...

     During the early 20th century, World War I changed Europe's perceptions of life and its values. The war's immense devastation on countries and the use of radical modern technologies and tactics caused a growing antiwar sentiment during it and afterward. The art world was also greatly changed by the war, gone were impressionism and lively scenery, such as Kircher's Street, Berlin . In its place, came forth Dadaism, with extreme antiwar sentiments, and Surrealism, as a reaction to the rationalism that led to the war. Dada artworks include pieces like Grosz's Pillars of Society , and Dali's The Persistence of Time is one of the most famous Surrealist artworks in existence.  (Kirchner, Ernest Ludwig Street, Berlin , 1913)      Street, Berlin is painted as oil on a 120.6 x  91.1 cm canvas, it depicts a pair of prostitutes walking down a busy Berlin street. True to expressionist paintings, the painting is less about the city itself, but the em...