Introduction
The Scream is a painting that was created by the Norwegian artists Edvard Munch in 1893 (Pridaeux, 2005). Also known as 'The Cry,' the painting is full of expressionist colors, bright sky, and a mysterious subject who is the focus of the painting. Munch was known as a painting and graphic artist who existed across different painting periods, such as expressionism, symbolism, modern art, and impressionism. In the painting, an individual clasps their face and screams in anguish while alone in the dock. The painting displays a twisted persona that seems to be terrified.
Personal Perspective
As already mentioned, The Scream acts as the most popular painting from the expressionist movement. Hence, there exists a need to analyze the painting from different perspectives. Based on my perspective, the painting acts as an expression of the emotional struggle that individuals go through each day when attempting to deal with their environments. The painting reveals a transparent view of the inner troubles and feelings of anxiety that an individual may go through. The artist places a greater emphasis on personal meaning within the painting as opposed to technical skills. The painting speaks out on the issue of mental crisis at a time when the importance of mental health for personal development had not yet been established. In this way, the artists created an expressive perspective of art that was not yet structured. This painting provided a further understanding of the emotional struggle that individuals may go through on a personal level.
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Other than the personal perspective, five more perspectives will be used for an analysis of the painting. These perspectives include a historical, cultural, ethical, and technical perspective. Based on these perspectives, a critical perspective will then be established in the painting, which will include an analysis of its position in the art world.
Historical Perspective
The Scream acts as a historical representation of the expressionist movement which begun at the start of the 20 th century. The expressionist movement is a modernist style which started in the early 20 th -century Germany. Artists in this style engage in the distortion of the reality of their subjects for the expression of their own emotions, feelings, and ideas (Furness, 2017). The aesthetic and approach of the movement come from a heavy inspiration of the paintings of Edvard Munch, who is viewed as one of the establishers of the movement. As one of the most popular symbols of the movement, Scream highlights the emotion of fear and despair that the artist was trying to communicate.
In The Scream, Munch engages in the depiction of the struggle that exists between individuals and their society. While Munch did not make an observation of the scene depicted in the painting, it evokes an emotion of general anxiety towards the external world. This representation of the emotional responses of the artist to a scene acted as a base for the artistic interpretation of expressions across time (Gale, 2016). This theme of individual alienation, as observed within the painting, would then go on to be seen across the 20 th century, attaining the interest of expressionist artists as the main element of modern life (Furness, 2017). In this way, the painting acts as a representation of the start of the expressionist movement in the early 20 th century and its development over the century.
Technical Perspective
The Scream was painted by utilizing different styles on a board. It shows, at first glance, a primary character who clutches their hands over their ears while other two subjects walk behind him. The background behind the figure is a sunset and a body of water. The brush strokes used by the artists make the painting appears like its swirling and provides it with a sense of motion (Dahlan, 2014). One of the main visual elements utilized in the painting is the use of swirling lines and distorted forms in the painting. Munch utilized swirling lines as a way of creating a sense of movement. Swirling lines were applied to the surroundings of the main figure along with the figure as well. The bride and the other two figures that exist on the left side of the painting and the boats in the water have been painted with rigid lines and shapes. This may act as a representation of the contrast between nature and civilization enforced on it.
The figures that exist on the left side of the painting are abstract but do not have the same level of distortion as the main figure. This results in the alienation of the main figure, which has long hands and simple facial features. There is also an exaggeration of colors within the painting. Munch utilized colors in this painting as a way of conveying emotions and drama (Prata et al., 2018). Therefore, he structured the colors to suit this idea instead of conducting a realistic painting. A strong contrast exists between the exaggerations of reds and oranges utilized to depict the sunset in the background, along with the dull blues, greens, and other dark colors utilized for all other things (Prata et al., 2018). Hence, color within this painting is used in two ways; for the intensification of the sunset in the background and the drama of abstract drama on the bridge. These extremes are effective in ensuring that the different colors used are complementary.
While the painting appears to be simple, a contrast exists between two complementary hues; red and green and orange and blue (Dahlan, 2014). This increases the level of complexity and creates an interesting color interaction in the painting. The red used to display the sky acts as the strongest color, which contrasts with the weak green used to depict the land. There is also an intensity to the orange, which engages in competition with the blue used in the land and water. Hence, by using both pastel and tempera, Munch was able to create an interesting composition structured by swirling lines and color contrasts.
Ethical Perspective
The ethical argument used to assess the painting is ecological injustice. The primary character in the painting does not experience an immediate and high-intensity version of the fear, and this makes the painting a useful symbol of fear. It also makes a suggestion there is a possibility of reinterpreting different common experiences within the natural world (Akhtar-Khavar, 2015). Despite the views presented by Munch about the painting, several interpretations of his work highlight the actual despair and anxiety that he experienced in the period. This was due to the mental illness that he was suffering at the time (Friedlaender et al., 2018). The background and distortion in the environment acted as a representation of the despair and anxiety, which acts as a universal expression of the human condition. The figure, which has often been identified as Munch himself, also suffers from the experiences that he had engaged in with mental illness.
The painting not only comments on our materially embodied existence but also emphasizes the incapacity of some individuals to see, hear, and be largely integrated into their environments and the world that surrounds them. The figure of the individual is integrated into the story that the natural world is invested in telling by its representation through the swirls utilized to also highlight its vibrant surroundings (Akhtar-Khavari, 2015). The positioning of the two other characters within the painting makes a suggestion that what resulted in the scream does not concern them. At the same time, the figure is distorted and engulfed in an experience of intense anxiety. Moreover, the representation of the well-dressed figures seems to indicate that they come from wealthy backgrounds. The fact that they are unable to hear the scream of nature acts as an aspect of the injustice that the painting attempts to depict.
Cultural Perspective
As a result of its unique features, the painting has been a significant aspect of culture over several decades. One of the main ways that the painting has existed in the cultural world is by the scream, acting as a symbol. Over the years, the paintings has endured several parodies which presents in different ways. Munch stated that he walking along a bridge when the color of the sky turned to angry orange (Pridaeux, 2005). To him, this acted as the mundane world presenting its own shriek. While the painting displays the environment that Munch describes himself existing in, the scream that he heard is transferred to an abstract figure that seemed to be staring beyond the picture frame itself.
After the expiration of the painting copyright, there were several copycats that were presented. One of the most popular copycats was the one done by Andy Warhol. Warhol was mainly focused on converting high-class components and turn them into elements that can be mass-reproduced (Brown, 2015). These renditions conducted by Warhol and other artists, coupled with the unusual features of the paintings, helped to establish the painting as a significant pop-culture motif. While popular on its now, the fame of the painting further increased through popular references such as the scream emoji and Kevin McAllister’s face in Home Alone (Brown, 2015).
Another way in which the scream was well established in popular culture was through the Scream films, where the scream mask acted as a source of terror. Through an inspiration of the character in the scream painting, a costume designer structured a gaping and skeletal mask for Halloween (Pheasent-Kelly, 2015). This mask then acted as the best way to hide the identity of the killer character in a series of movies titled with the same name. The mask then went on to be used for four further installations of the film, where the mask was used as a source of terror. The mask was used along with several screams throughout the film, with the auditory cues being used as a channel to increase the level of fear in the audience.
Lastly, the scream as a meme was another symbol of the painting in current culture. This exists in the form of the Wilhelm scream was created in the middle of the 20 th century but then became highly common (Melia, 2017). A meme can integrate a combination of different pieces of information whose interaction with their environment results in a new translation. It now acts as a consistent auditory cue to symbolize the tragic death of a specific actors. It is now the communication of rich cinematic history while being used to establish the rhetorical position of a filmmaker. For example, the Wilhelm scream is utilized in a majority of Star Wars movies as the sound designer acts as one of the individuals that gave it its name.
Critical Perspective
The Scream was created at the start of the 20 th century and acts as one of the first paintings of the expressionist movements. The scream was completely differentiated from the rest of the art that existed at the time, as many artists were focused on the depiction of objective reality. The Scream is highly popular for its use of expressionist colors, a bright swirling sky and the mysterious figure in the foreground clutching their face while screaming in fear. The painting acts as a depiction of the troubles and anxieties that Munch was experiencing at the time (Azeem, 2015). This resulted in increased emphasis on the emotions displayed in the painting as opposed to its visual beauty. Color contrasts and swirling lines were used as the main elements of the picture and were essential in emphasizing the different details that existed.
The scream highlights the principle of ecological justice and how specific individuals are affected by environmental burdens while others do not. The Scream now acts as a significant channel of expression in pop culture and has been implemented over the years in different areas. This ranges from references in Home Alone to the horror movie scream. More than a century after it was created, the scream was also included in scream and has acted as an important symbol of fear and anxiety.
Conclusion
The Scream, while created by Edvard Munch as a means of self-expression, is now a popular element of pop culture. Through these paintings, Edvard Munch was able to act as one of the foremost pioneers of the expressionist movement in Germany. Munch was also able to highlight the problem of mental illness in society at a time when societal discussions on the subject did not yet exist. Due to this, The Scream has become intensely famous across the years while also intensifying the popularity of expressionism. In itself, the painting acts as a great artwork for analysis while showcasing how the contrast of color can draw in an audience/
References
Azeem, H. (2015). The art of Edvard Munch: a window onto a mind. BJPsych Advances , 21 (1), 51-53.
Brown, J. (2015). From The Scream to Hello Kitty: Reading Memes and Images of Faciality in Global Visual Culture. International Journal of the Image , 6 (3).
Dahlan, A. G. (2014). The Scream & Starry Night: Emotions, Symbol & Motives. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico , 20 (1), 331-339.
Furness, R. S. (2017). Expressionism (Vol. 28). Taylor & Francis.
Gale, C. L. (2016). A Study Guide for" Expressionism" . Gale, Cengage Learning.
Melia, M. (2017). Reading the Scream in Berberian Sound Studio and the films of Peter Strickland. Frames Cinema Journal , (11).
Pheasant-Kelly, F. (2015). Reframing Parody and Intertextuality in Scream: Formal and Theoretical Approaches to the ‘Postmodern’Slasher. In Style and Form in the Hollywood Slasher Film (pp. 149-160). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Prata, F., Robock, A., & Hamblyn, R. (2018). The sky in Edvard Munch’S the scream. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 99 (7), 1377-1390.
Prideaux, S. (2005). Edvard Munch: behind the scream . Yale University Press
Appendix A
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