Echo of a Scream was a painting created by David Alfaro Siqueiros. This painting was considered one of his most important and symbolic paintings. The painting depicts a young screaming child surrounded by the destructive aftermath of war. The African-American child sits alone on rubble of broken objects. Siqueiros emphasizes the screaming by adding a bigger replica of the child’s head screaming behind him. Echo of a Scream demonstrates the gloomy despair of a child whose future is now unclear due to war. At this time Siqueiros was involved in the Civil War and wanted to his painting to represent the social revolution of war and the affects of fascism. This painting can have a serious affect on the social issue of war. This painting comes across as an advertisement of what affects war can have on the people who survive it. It looks as if Siqueiros wanted to spread the affects of war to the world. I think people forget the major consequences of war. War causes massive destruction to a society leaving them in what Siqueiros depicts as rubble. A lot of their resources are gone, leaving them without much of a future. I think the reaction society could have on Echo of a Scream is to protest against war. I believe society would see this painting and want to find ways to help out countries that are being affected by war. My painting that I plan to design will be on abortion. I personally believe that having an abortion is murder and want to express my feelings toward this social issue like Siqueiros expressed his. For my composition, I am going to have a close up of a young girl’s pregnant stomach. I plan on painting a fetus on the stomach giving the viewer the illusion that they can see into the girl’s abdomen. In the background, to the left will be a clinic. Outside the clinic, people will be protesting with signs that say “Abortion is Murder” and “Save a Life.” The change in scale and the overlapping will give the illusion of space. Curved lines will be applied to design the shape of the girl, fetus and the protesters. Vertical and horizontal lines will make up the clinic and signs. The fetus will be painted in variations of red while the background will be made up of neutral colors. The fetus will be the focal point since it is the largest object in the painting. I will create movement in the painting with the diagonal and curved lines of people protesting in the background. The painting visual weight is more towards the right with the close-up of the girl’s stomach causing an asymmetrical balance in the painting.
When I researched about Siqueiros paintings on social issues I became inspired to do the same on the social issue of abortion. I want to be able to express and advertise to people the affects of these social issues.
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