Saturday, February 6, 2016
Scream
I talked about the painting "Scream" by Edvard Munch yesterday in class. I really like this painting and I think it's cool how much of an impact it has had on things. You hear the term "the scream" used everywhere in society today. They have those creepy Halloween masks that, if you look at the painting, look exactly like the face in the painting (Here's a link to the mask if you don't know what I'm talking about -- http://www.spirithalloween.com/product/scream-ghost-face-deluxe-movie-classic-mask/15460.uts ). There was a movie made called "Scream" where the bad guy wears the mask. (Pretty sure this is where the scream mask really originated the scary connotations) I think it's actually pretty ironic that the producers of this movie made Edvard Munch's "Scream" character into a horrible murderer because Munch's goal was not to project his figure as outwardly distraught or evil. The turmoil in Munch's painting is solely stemming from the inside... With metaphorical external effects. Anyway, I just think it's cool how this character/symbol is so present still today.
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I think it is interesting you said this. I never realized the mask and the painting were related but I can see it now. I know for a fact no person really looks like this man in the painting so why depict someone this way. Even if the artist didn't mean to, the subject seems very terrifying. Whenever I think of the mask I think of the scary movies and the parodies of scary movies. This seems to be the mask that directors go to as the "perfect" killer mask. I wonder how it got its negative connotation if the artist didn't mean it in that way.
I went to a building downtown the other day for an interview for a prestigious scholarship at UVA. Due to the importance and severity of this interview, I was very nervous. The first thing I saw on the table in what you could call the "waiting room" was a book of 20th century Impressionist art. On the cover of the book was Munch's The Scream. I thought to myself, "Well, how perfect is this." I thought it might even be a sign. The painting depicted perfectly my own feelings and emotions I was experiencing. I was internally screaming to myself as I was waiting to be interviewed. Like you said, Munch's goal wasn't to project his figure as outwardly distraught, and of course I didn't let my emotions be known to my competitors. All of my fear stemmed from and bubbled within inside of me.
Just another example of Hollywood using art in movies and TV shows. Over the past few weeks I have been constantly reminded of the movie "The Da Vinci Code." It included pieces of art that we have discussed in class. I always have a little burst of excitement when I notice something from class in a movie or on TV.
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