Truth Behind the Lies (The Giant Mushroom) , JSim (2011)

            Shock, horror, sorrow, anger, blankness, confusion, happiness, and betrayal. These are some of the many feelings people feel at times of war. Truth Behind the Lies portrays these emotions that government tends ignore when it comes down to declaring a war. This work questions the government and their statement by showing people, of all ages, gender, and race, crying over the loss of their loved one in a war, where the causes and effect seems questionable. Whether you live in the winning side or the losing side in the war, it always brings tears to people's lives. Many people lose their loved ones, from civilians to soldiers. The crying people are of all races. It doesn't matter what country you are from and it does not matter whether your country's bombing another or destroying their land because sooner or later, they will seek revenge. The girl in the middle is holding a white paper that has a smile on it, as if to hide her true feelings of the war. She also have a question mark, indicating that she is confused on whether she should be happy or not. Furthermore, the bombs are targeted to the people and stealth planes are dropping bombs to people and their houses. As people watch bombs being thrown to them and see their houses being destroyed, are they truly happy, let alone thankful, about the war? The government repeatedly uses their citizens as an excuse to war, stating that the purpose of war is for the goodness of the citizens and their well being in the future. How is the war supposed to help if so many people are unhappy and sadden by the war? 

Massacre in Korea, Picasso (1951)

             The Massacre in Korea, painted by Picasso in the year 1951, depicts a scene from the Korean War. After his famous piece, Guernica, Picasso focused his drawings on an anti-war message, criticizing governments for their actions. This painting is famous for its resemblance to Goya’s The Third of May 1808. The Massacre in Korea was a response to the 1950 Sinchon Massacre, when South Korean troops and American soldiers marched out to Sinchon, North Korea, and killed huge numbers of people presumed to be communist supporters, but also civilians (Park, Par 3). Though the details of this incident are still debated by the North and the South, the Sinchon Massacre is still one of the major events in Korean history. 
             This painting divides into two parts: left and right. The left side contains four women and children, and its overall tone is red. The ground they are standing on has a reddish color, symbolizing death, while the land on the right is green, much like healthy, beautiful grassland (Victor, Par 4). The Korean women are mourning the death of their people and children while the soldiers dressed like medieval knights, presumably American soldiers, point their weapons at the innocent civilians. Picasso shows the weakness of these civilians (mainly women and children) through their nakedness while the soldiers are dressed and armed (Victor, Par 3). The nakedness of the civilians shows their weakness in this situation and how powerless they are while witnessing their motherland crash and burn by the powerful opposition. Furthermore, these soldiers resemble medieval knights, symbolizing justice, chivalry for the country, and ultimately, resemble medieval knights fighting for their powerful lords. Picasso, however, questions whether their actions are truly justified, as innocent children run and women cry in disbelief. 
             This piece of art work directly relates to the questioning of war because through the mourning, distorted faces of North Korean women, Picasso questions the audience about the purpose of the Korean War. Both sides claim that the purpose of the Korean War was to bring justice to Korea—North and South combined. Then who was this action supposed to benefit? USSR, China, and North Koreans were fighting to bring the South into communism. Simultaneously, the United States and South Korea were fighting to protext themselves from communism invasion. Both sides wanted the extra piece of land for their government; how is this supposed to help the residents of the Korean peninsula? Residents of Sinchon had been murdered by their fellow countrymen just because they lived in the Northern side of the country. The redness of the land the women are standing on and the green color of the land under the soldiers’ feet show how green the red land used to be before it was soaked with the blood of the innocent people who had to die. The toddler playing on the ground shows how clueless children are of the situation they are in, yet they were killed due to the greediness of their government. The pointed guns imply that the people on the left side of the painting will be killed in any moment (Victor, Par 11-13). How can this act be justified?

Crayon Boy (Gun), Banksy (2011)

             Banksy is one of the most famous street artists alive. His artistic style ranges from graffiti to sculpture-like works. Some view him as an obnoxious vandal while others believe him to be a brilliant genius. He keeps his identity a secret; his secrecy and brilliant works fascinate people. His art not only adds playful life into mundane buildings and streets, but also promotes an anti-war message.This art work criticizes the government for making young children participate in war, though the war is supposed to be for the benefit of the people. Bansky questions what the government's purpose in the war was through this simple, yet powerful street art.

             In the Crayon Boy (Gun) by Banksy, there is a little boy, presumed to be a Vietnamese boy, reviving a scene from the Vietnam War (National Public Radio, Par 2).  The landscape shows the type of activities this boy should be engaging in: drawing flowers and butterflies with crayons while the sun looks down happily. However, he is standing in the middle of this oh-so-happy garden, holding a machine gun, fighting for his life. Banksy revives a scene from a war, but instead of using deadly, metal bullets, he replaces them with rainbow-like crayons. This replacement shows his feelings about the phenomenon of forcing children to participate in war and how brutal that is. Although the subject of the art work is Vietnamese, this piece “comments on children (in general) that are forced to participate in war” (National Public Radio, Par 3).

             Thematically, this artwork questions the purpose of war. The Vietnam War was supposed to be a war between the two major opposing sides in Vietnam; in the big picture, however, it was just a huge war between the USSR and the US. The two countries were supposedly fighting for the poor Vietnamese, when in reality, they were just fighting for their own greed as stronger nations. Banksy questions who this war was for and whether it was necessary to make children get involved in this greedy game for adults and by adults.