Image Analysis

Amy Herman’s book titled, Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life systematically outlines the techniques that should be used to analyze the visual world we live in. I will analyze cubist painter Pablo Picasso’s famous painting titled “Guernica” from 1937 using her tactful steps. It is important to note the context for such a powerful image. ‘Assess’ is the title for the first part of her book in which Herman emphasizes the importance of knowing the Who, What, Where, and When while looking at an image or situation. Even though there are other numerous factors to a proper assessment, these are the building blocks. ’Analyze’ is the second part of the book where she emphasizes the elusive “Why.” She notes, “In most cases, a problem is the result of a reaction, and reactions are caused by actions. Understanding how others see things, what facts of life they might be dealing with, can help to answer why they act as they do” (138). The reason Picasso felt the need to create such a work of art is because Guernica is the name of the city that was bombed by Nazis during the Spanish Civil War (spanish-art.org, 1). The painting has multiple symbols including a mother with a dead child, a bull, a pidgeon, a dead soldier, a light bulb, a horse, a kneeling woman, an oil lamp, and an imploring man (spanish-art.org, 1). The purpose of this painting is to remain an anti-war symbol and a visual reminder of the tragedies that war can bring (spanish-art.org, 1). The painting is currently housed at The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain. Although the painting is offered as a profound symbol around the world, I can speculate the intended audience were those living in Spain after the bombing.

Amy Herman calls the third part of her book ‘Articulate.’ Some of the key factors she emphasizes in all three parts help me to accurately describe what can be seen in the image. It is important to assess ourselves and our visual techniques because we are unaware of being unaware about our lack of ability to see thoroughly (95). We must strive to only provide truthful information about what we see because there are consequences to placing false information into the world. Although I am currently a graduate student in Media Literacy and Digital Culture, my career is teaching art. Herman points out that she prefers to teach her famous course, called “The Art of Perception” to students who do not have an art background because it is more difficult to be objective or better yet, accurate, when you already have a bias similar to that of an artist (12). Keeping that in mind, I find it personally and especially important to apply her techniques because I am a teacher of a visual medium.

Before reading the book, I would have described “Guernica” as a large scale black and white painting with a seemingly cubist technique. After reading the book, I can articulate my description of the painting differently. Herman notes “To test how well you communicated the objective facts, ask the person to draw the painting based on your description. If you haven’t included enough information for the person to replicate it, go back and write a different description that conveys the information more accurately” (193). With that being said, “Guernica” appears to be a painting of black, grays, and whites. The lines appear to be abstract. There appears to be unrealistic representations of animals and humans evenly distributed across the two dimensional plane. The shapes of the humans and animals are more organic, while the elements behind and around the figures are more geometric. There are dark black and grey shadows in the background, while the asymmetrical humans and animals are depicted in lighter grays and whites. The bull appears to have a dark body and light head. The bull appears to be shocked at the possible horror around him. Underneath the image of the bull, there appears to be a woman clutching a child who may or may not be dead, her head facing the sky in, her eyes in the shape of tears (spanish-art.org, 1). In the middle of the painting, it seems as though the horse is about to fall down. “We can see the head of the horse, with its mouth open” (spanish-art.org, 1). The pigeon appears to be between the bull and the horse. It is not as clear as it appears to be a flash of light color (spanish-art.org, 1). At the bottom left of the composition, the soldier seems to be made up of body parts and not a complete body. We can see his head, an arm, and a forearm. In one hand, the soldier appears to be holding a broken sword and a flower (spanish-art.org, 1). The man to the far right of the painting seems to be pleading at the sky (spanish-art.org, 1). Underneath the man to the far right, there appears to be a kneeling woman and “her leg appears to be dislocated or broken. She seems to be bleeding from the knee although she is trying to stop the flow with her hand” (spanish-art.org, 1). There appears to be a light bulb shining down on the scene, a lamp underneath the light bulb being held out from a hand, and a sharp weapon being held by a hand and pointed to the side at the bottom of the composition. At this point, Herman may suggest I stop as a way to make sure I don’t say too much. She explains KISS stands for ‘keep it short and simple’ (194).

If I had never seen “Guernica” before or researched the facts upon selecting the image, I would use a technique Herman refers to as COBRA: Concentrate on the Camouflaged, One Thing at a Time, Take a Break, and Realign Your Expectations, and Ask Someone Else to Look With You. For example, I could reposition myself and the painting in order to see what might be camouflaged (98). If I didn’t look for camouflaged elements I may miss the appearance of the sword or knife in one of the characters hands. To prevent falling prey to the myth of multitasking I could focus one element at a time (99). Focusing on one characters face at a time instead of scanning the images may help me to develop a deeper understanding. I could take a break if I was experiencing sensory overload and hopefully come back to a fresh observation (100), which I have ironically already done in regards to this blog post. Realigning my expectations means making sure I am not looking for something specific to begin with (101). It would not be unreasonable to be searching for war symbols now that I know the context for the painting after research. Asking for a new perspective means we are dedicated to the big picture of discovery and not getting stuck on a problem without asking for help (102). When I asked my friend Wilson about the painting, he noticed the lamp being held which alludes to the time period in which the painting may have been painted or at least the time period Picasso was trying to represent.

Herman points out the secret to making sure our communications are received. Repeating, renaming, and reframing are the approaches we should take to do this. In articulating the importance of proper communication, I would like to reframe the image.

Clearly this is not an actual frame, but a way of reframing how I am presenting it which is another effective way of checking for understanding (207). Even though I think it is too difficult to be truly objective, seeing the painting in this context, frame, and from a different perspective makes me feel differently about the image. It makes me feel as though seeing it in person is a more effective way of viewing the painting. The painting makes me think about how the audience felt during the time of the bombing. The looks of distress on the animals and humans faces makes me think about how lucky I am to be alive. The image reminds me of other paintings by Pablo Picasso as well as numerous other artists and how I may have been inaccurately viewing them or describing them. “Guernica” reminds me of war stories that my grandpa and Uncle used to tell me about World War II and Vietnam. Having a more accurate sense of the meaning behind the image makes me think about promoting anti-violence in the future. Understanding the anti-war and anti-violence ideology that is at work in this painting, I choose to align my beliefs with this powerful image. In a more immediate way, the painting helps me to reflect on how I may strive to be a better teacher. At the K-8 school where I teach, there is a small population of students who are visually impaired. I can use Herman’s steps to accurately describe elements and propose questions about art to the class as a way of differentiating for my visually impaired students. I appreciate Herman’s stance on the importance of art. She points out that art is a great way to learn how to communicate when we’re uncomfortable. Installation artist and photographer JR explains that art is about “raising questions, and giving space to interpretation and dialogue. The face that art cannot change things makes it a neutral place for exchanges and discussions, and then enables it to change the world” (216).

“Guernica.” Spanish Art, www.spanish-art.org/spanish-painting-guernica.html.

Herman, Amy E. Visual Intelligence Sharpen You Perception, Change Your Life. Mariner Books, 2017.