Art Appreciation
BY SABA SHAHID (ECON/IV)
What would Travel & Culture be without art? Imagine a world without the aesthetic genius of architects, sculptors and painters. A world without Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Picasso's "Guernica," Gaudi's Sagrada Familia or Van Gogh's "Starry Night" would be greatly lacking. It is the iconic pieces of art that have formed cultures over hundreds of centuries and have become an inherent part of traveling. Art is the vision of artists that allows innovation and creation.
Below are a few of the works of art, specifically paintings, that I think the world would not survive without -- for otherwise, history would definitely have to be rewritten.
Few contemporary artists have had the impact Pablo Picasso had. The fame and reverence he received would perhaps have been unimaginable to his predecessors, including some who worked in secrecy to express their tabooed ideas. Most known for his "cubist" form of art, Picasso is also renowned for his paintings of plump, rounded female figures. Among these is his “Woman with Yellow Hair.” Painted in 1931, the subject of the work, Marie Therese Walter, was one of the artist's lovers. Yet despite his fame, Picasso's works have been termed abstract by many -- a form of art that might be an acquired taste for some.
Mathematician, physicist, painter, sculptor, inventor, innovator -- I would probably run out of words to describe him, but THE visionary and genius, Leonardo da Vinci, was perhaps the Renaissance's 
greatest gift to humanity. The world would be greatly incompletewithout his sketches of what would become helicopters almost four centuries later; his accurate depictions of the human anatomy; and, of course, "The Last Supper." However, although a very conventional choice, my favorite da Vinci work is his "Mona Lisa." Now I believe all of you know the "Mona Lisa," but few know the reasons why it is so famous. After all, it is just a portrait of a disputed subject. Her perplexing smile is indeed the main thing that draws tourists to the Louvre Museum in Paris, but there is also the painting's illustrious history. It was stolen in 1911, after which a chaotic hunt for the culprit led to the interrogation of many, including the above-described artist, Pablo Picasso himself. Eventually the Italian patriot Vincenzo Peruggia was found guilty and "Mona Lisa" returned to the Louvre. Decades later, as a gesture to ease relations with the US, France's President De Gaulle lent the painting for exhibit there. "Mona Lisa" also toured Japan and the Soviet Union.
Speaking of theft, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's works have been the target of not just one, but several attempted thefts. These works include the most iconic of expressionist paintings, "The Scream." To me, the painting's soft brush strokes exude a sense of calmness, yet there is so much agitation in its message. The almost supernatural figure standing in the foreground "screaming" has a haunting effect on the viewer. Moreover, the painting is said to reflect much of Munch's personality, especially the excessive anxiety he experienced.
Being able to express creativity and imagination effectively is in my view a blessing. Not everyone is capable of the writer's skill of articulating complex thoughts into meaningful words. Nor can everyone have the painter's talent of conveying an impactful message through brushstrokes. It is Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" that makes me say this. This work of art is so communicative and can be interpreted in so many different ways that one cannot help but ponder upon the genius of this surrealist artist. To some it represents Einstein's theory of special relativity, which contests the notion of objects reaching a state of rest. Time, too, therefore cannot be stopped: a concept depicted by the flexible clocks in the paintings. According to Dali himself though, the clocks were inspired by cheese melting in the sun. Whatever story you believe the painting tells, "The Persistence of Memory" definitely proves that a picture is worth a thousand words.
A discussion on artists would be incomplete without mention of Andy Warhol. A pioneer of contemporary pop art, Warhol was known for his extensive use of bright colors incorporated into photograph-like prints and his transformation of material from the commercial media into works of art. Newspapers, magazines and even supermarket products were his inspiration. He was controversial to say the least, but extremely influential. Among his most famous works were his depictions of celebrities, including pop art images of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.