Essay Question: Evaluate the statement “Artists employ systems of signs and symbols to convey ideas about culture and society.” Artists Kathe Kollwitz, Emil Nolde, Oskar Kokoschka and Alberto Giacometti
...g symbolic elements within her work to convey the suffering of humankind. Through using recognisable signs of poverty and pain, Kollwitz has successfully presented her strong ethical views and made universal social comments regarding the experiences of humankind in aesthetically appealing artworks. Emil Nolde is another German Expressionist who used his artworks as vehicles to portray the ultimate suffering of humankind. Nolde creates brutally crude drawings charged with emotion to reveal his opinion that “we live in an evil era in which the white man brings the whole earth into servitude.” As seen through his work ‘Portrait of Man’ (1926), thick strokes of dark paint are often used in his works to indicate mass and weight of figures rather than outlining their form. Nolde alternates his brushstrokes from being juicy and runny to dry and scratchy in order to create an initially shocking effect followed by a more allusive response. His works are therefore conjured from dark, muted mixtures of colour, which portray a somber, turbulent and menacing atmosphere. Nolde was very familiar with all the materials he used, and knew how to get the most out of them. Nolde’s work ‘Prophet’ painted in 1912 depicts a brooding face with hollow eyes, a furrowed brow and sunken cheeks; all incorporated to confront the viewer. This woodcut has coarsely gouged-out areas revealing grainy textures and thick jagged lines. These techniques aim to symbolise the subject matter as a strong religious believer that Nolde incorporates to fulfil his want to “embody an inner spiritual resonance”(Emil Nolde). Nolde wished for his “work to grow forth out of material” and this is achieved within his work ‘Madonna’ created in 1917. The symbolic thick black areas create a bleak appearance, contrasting with the tender image being portrayed. This contrast creates a strong social comment regarding the traumatic events and emotions experienced by mothers throughout Europe during a time where many of their sons were lost to the World Wars. Emil Nolde cleverly demonstrates how the unity of form, signs, symbols and content can successfully portray the meanings desired. Oskar Kokaschka is a Viennese artist who, similarly to Kathe Kollwitz and Emil Nolde, uses signs and symbolic techniques to portray messages regarding the society and culture he exists within. Kokaschka attempted to express the interior states of his subjects and achieved this by removing his figures from the background to create a surrounding aura or mood. This mood is established through the use of symbolic colours, materials and lines. Heavy impasto brushstrokes contrast with the thin, almost opaque background, expressing the nervousness created when psychological impulses are not in control. Symbolic techniques are incorporated throughout all his works, specifically in ‘Sposalizio’ (1912), a double self-portrait. Kokaschka’s artwork aims to represent the confusion felt not only within his personal life, resulting from a passionate affair, but also throughout Italy where the World Wars led people to question the right from the wrong. Oskar Kokaschka’s direct violent and unconstrained artworks incorporate a wide variety of symbols to express the inner states of the individuals being depicted. Although Alberto Giacometti lived in the post-war era, his artworks also represent the internal feelings of humankind in his world. Giacometti wished to create his sculptures, drawings and paintin...