by Sabrina Mak

THE REBELLIO N OF ART

Sabrina Mak

Art is a form of human expression. It allows us to express indescribable feelings and emotions through a blank canvas. Not only does it fuel creativity, it also fuels rebellion. As rules in art do not even exist, artists tend to create art that may be rebellious in its own way, something that could potentially trigger a dangerous reaction to the world around us. Artistic rebellion has become a fundamental factor in our lives. It is a way of portraying one’s revolt through street art, protest art, or even art that has been hung up in some exquisite gallery for millions to see. Art gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the rebels in our society – whether they are the subject, the painter or even the viewer – thus encouraging people to understand why rebellion prevails in our planet. Some artists synthesise rebellious subjects with rebellious style. Gerald van Honthurst’s ‘Saint Sebastain’ clearly portrays that Saint Sebastian himself was indeed a rebel. A Roman centurion, he was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor, Diocletian. Sebastian became the leader of an army during Diocletian’s reign and converted many soldiers to Christianity. This made Diocletian rage with fury as he feared religious conflict and individuals refusing to conform. Once discovered, Sebastian was ordered to be killed, bound to a stake and shot with arrows. It was clearly a choice of rebellion for him to go against the ruler’s beliefs, as Christians were generally shunned for refusing to worship or participate in sacrifices. Furthermore, van Honthorst was also rebellious for illustrating the appearance of Saint Sebastian in his painting. He was one of the first to paint him as a half- length figure, capturing his youthful and handsome body pierced by numerous arrows. The majority of Saint Sebastian portraitures display him in a vertical position, often crucified the same way as Jesus. Even though there was barely any significant reaction to van Honthorst’s artwork, other artists including Caravaggio, Jan van Bijlert and Hendrik ter Brugghen subsequently adopted the slump-forward position in their paintings. Van Honthorst deliberately painted Sebastian in this particular position, as opposed to the usual representation of the martyr. There are other famous examples of artistic rebellion. Banksy is a well-known anonymous street artist whose work has been notorious in political and social issues. His most famous piece of art is ‘The Kissing Coppers’, which is displayed on the wall of the Prince Albert Pub in Brighton. This illustration not only gives a positive message on promoting homosexuality, it also places emphasis on the tolerance of sexual identity by having two authoritative icons in a pro-gay position. This work is rebellious in that people may not agree with gay rights, as homosexuality is still a sensitive topic, and even illegal act, in many parts of the world, including the UK. His other piece, ‘Rage, the Flower Thrower’ touches on the hazardous conflict of war. It depicts a man dressed in traditional riot gear, with a bandana tied around his face and wearing his cap back to front, but with juxtaposing flowers rather than weaponry, revealing the entire meaning of the sketch. By replacing the weapon with a bouquet, Banksy is campaigning for peace instead of war. His art was controversial in its location, as he placed it on a side wall in Jerusalem, where there is huge presence of weapons and the army.

REBELLIO N

Whilst the theme of artistic rebellion is strongly conveyed in street art, other contemporary examples using more traditional canvasses also prevail, such as Picasso’s ‘Guernica are among’ the world’s most rebellious pieces. As a response to the 1937 Nazi bombing in the small Spanish town, Picasso created his most powerful political statement. This painting portrays the devastation of war, with six human figures (four women, one man and a child), a horse and a bull. As we can see, the most obvious feelings of pain can be illustrated from the distorted visages of the women, from the suffering of mental and physical agony. The intentional illustrations of the characters directly imply the way Picasso felt about the incident, which also portrays the rebel he wants to be as the piece was completed immediately after the disastrous event. To this day, ‘Guernica’ still remains as a symbolic testament to tragedy, a graphic reminder of how influential art can be. The value of artistic rebellion impacts the way we live our lives. It is an unrestrained approach of expressing the way an individual thinks, a pictorial form which can be shown to others and it does not matter how anyone interprets it. Without the freedom of composing art, rebellion in our society would not be as effective and powerful, hence why artistic rebellion is so important in humanity.