Art and Nature: The Scream of Nature by Edvard Munch (1 of 3)

1893

1910

“The Scream” (1893 and 1910) by Edvard Munch

The artist, Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863-1944) painted “The Scream” from a visionary experience that he had.  He tells of walking along a path near a Norwegian fjord with his friends.  As the blood red sun was setting, Munch felt “an infinite scream passing through nature”.  While painting this picture as a part of his series, “The Frieze of Life”, Munch described it as “the soul’s final breaking point.”

During his artistic career, Munch painted several versions of “The Scream”.  Since each picture was done at a different point in his life, they reflect the subtle changes in his style and point of view.  Examine the first version of 1893 with the later 1910 one to see how Munch’s perspective changed about his initial experience.  Although the subject matter remains the same, the paintings have become separate entities.

The original 1893 painting is a more realistic painting of the scene at the fjord.  Although the screaming figure is stylized, the observer can tell that he is a male human.  Moreover the sky, sea, railing, and on-lookers are realistically painted.  The scene is stylized but still realistic.

In contrast, the 1910 painting reflects a more abstract style.  The sea merges into the sky, while the path becomes a straight line leading into the horizon.  The screaming figure ceases to be a human male, and the onlookers merge with the sky.

To understand their differences, the elements of each painting need to be examined more closely.  The similarities are that both versions include the diagonal straight lines of the path and the curling wavy lines of the sea and sky.  However, the lines of the 1893 version are calm with natural shapes dominating the space.  Meanwhile, the 1910 version has ramrod straight lines and gyrating curves which become semi-circles.  Also, the shapes of the 1910 picture are the artificial ones of squares and circles.

Comparing the colors of each painting leads to uncovering more differences. The 1893 picture has conventional colors for each of the subjects portrayed.  The railing and path are depicted in various shades of brown.  The clothing of the people is navy and black; the same as the sea.  The sky is filled with oranges, yellows, and light blues of a sunset.  These colors mesh well together to keep the observer from being unsettled by the experience of the screaming man.

However it seems that Munch’s aim in the 1910 version is to completely unsettle the observer.  Nothing is painted in a natural color.  The garish oranges and yellows of the sky flow into the equally garish oranges and yellows of the path.  The yellows, which are tinged with green, then clash with the blood red of the oranges of the painting.  The royal blue of the sea creates discord with the various oranges.  Finally, the blue and purple figures are paired with the yellow greens to create a noxious stomach-churning edginess.

Negative Energy: Hate (3 of 3): Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "The Christmas Bells"

A stark contrast to Gov. Perry’s ad is Longfellow’s poem, “The Christmas Bells” (1864).  This poem details the poet’s emotional struggle with several major tragedies in his life.  Three years before, his wife died in tragically and horribly.  In trying to save her from the flames that engulfed her, Longfellow himself was permanently physically disfigured.  Later in that year, one of his sons ran off to enlist in the Union Army (U.S.) to fight in the U.S. Civil War (1861-65).  Later this son was seriously wounded in battle, much to his father’s horror.

To express his sorrow and despair, Longfellow wrote this poem (later put to music as a carol). As he listened to the bells, Longfellow relates, “And in despair, I bowed my head: ‘There is no peace on earth’, I said”.  He goes on to say, “For hate is strong and mocks the song, of Peace on earth, good will to men.”  This is Longfellow expressing his bitterness in contrast to Christmas Day, when people celebrate joy and life.  

However Longfellow does not end the poem there.  He continues with the bells’ answer: “God is not dead, not doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail”.  Longfellow’s response is that there is a power greater than hate.  This power, God, is actively involved with the affairs of humans.  With patience and hope, we will see our wrongs corrected and the present hate overcome.  God can end the hate that people cannot.  Longfellow offers an antidote to hate, after he notes that it will always plague humans.  We do not have to give into this emotion for we can counter it with faith in God.  

Longfellow’s use of the Christian religion differs from Gov. Perry’s.  The poet relies on his religion to breakdown the differences between people.  Through God’s actions, peace and goodwill will be restored on the earth.  God’s love is the key to ending hate. Meanwhile Gov. Perry uses his religion to divide people.  He sees God as being under siege, and that we people need to fight to assist Him.  In Gov. Perry’s case, God becomes weak and unable to overcome hate.

Using Longfellow’s example, I can counter hate with other thoughts.  I do not have to be overcome by it.  For example, when hate pops into my head, I can think thoughts of gratitude.  During the week of trying not to think about hate, I decided to be grateful for central heating and indoor plumbing.  I dislike the cold, and thought that being grateful for these things would be a good antidote.  As I felt gratitude about central heating, I could feel my mind expand to include the people who invented such marvels and also those who maintain them.  As I became more grateful, I became more inclusive in the group of people to thank.

People do not start feeling hate as a primary emotion.  The first emotions can be fear, sorrow, or despair.  Senseless tragedy can lead to sorrow and unhappiness.  From these emotions comes resentment and bitterness.  This chain-link of feeling leads to hate, which is the final stop on this emotional train.  To stop it, we need to backtrack to the beginning.

Resentment has us place our despair and hurt outside of ourselves, usually on another group of people.  Bitterness purifies our selves by putting our unwanted and shadow feelings onto another group.  These two emotions encourage rigidity in people and harden them as well.  With laser-like aim, we can lay the source of our pain onto someone else.  Hate gives us a reason to eliminate the Other as a source of our pain.

However, hate can be countered through the generosity of spirit and forgiveness.  Sorrow and hurts have to be felt because through this process of feeling, wounds can be cleansed.  With hope and optimism, our wounds will be healed.  After accepting our sorrows, we will have a more flexible approach to life.  Then forgiveness will eliminate the final traces of hate in our lives.

In my own experience, eliminating hate from my thoughts was difficult, since it is a force that needs to be dealt with.  Most of the time, I do not consider hate, but it does creep up on me in unguarded moments.  What I did was to replace the idea of hate with thoughts of gratitude.  However, I do need to make sure that I process my feelings of hurt and sorrow, lest they fester into hate.

Works Used:

Anderson, Douglas, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas, 2010, http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/i_heard_the_bells_caulkin.htm, .

Clarkson, Frederick, “Thirty Seconds of Dominionism over Iowa”, “Talk to Action”, 7 December 2011, http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/12/7/23297/7132, .

Heath, Ian, “Discover Your Mind”, 2002, http://discover-your-mind.co.uk/index.htm, .

---, “The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus”, Merriam-Webster: Springfield (MA), 1989.

Pressfield, Steven, “Warrior Ethos”, The Black Irish Press: New York, 2011.

Stewart, Tom, “The Story Behind ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’”, What Saith The Scriptures?, 20 December 2001, http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/Edit_I.Heard.the.Bells.html, .

Williams, Mary Elizabeth, “Rick Perry: More disliked than Rebecca Black”, Salon.com, 9 Dec. 2011, http://www.salon.com/2011/12/09/rick_perry_more_disliked_than_rebecca_black/, .

Negative Energy: Hate (2of 3): Gov. Rick Perry's Ad: "Strong"

Examining Gov. Perry’s ad “Strong” in the light of hate as identity and separateness is an eye opener since it presents the meta-definition of hate.  The Texas Governor puts a wall between himself and the Other (which in his case includes homosexuals, President Obama, liberals and Moslems).  Gov. Perry sets himself and “his people” apart from the Other, by denigrating the humanity of several groups of people.

Hate accomplishes two things.  It dehumanizes and demonizes the Other, who then becomes your enemy.  Once this happens, you can destroy them without any scruples or qualms.  In contrast, the “warrior ethos” gives respect to the enemy.  We see our enemy’s full humanity and accord them their honor.  We may fight them, but we allow them the same rights as ours.

However, Gov. Perry, in his ad, rejects the humanity of homosexuals.  As the Other, their service to their country (the same one as Gov. Perry’s) is denigrated.  The sacrifices of homosexuals in preserving the Constitution that grants Gov. Perry his rights are not acknowledged.  Instead, he claims that they, by openly serving their country, bar his children’s right to openly practice their religion in public schools.

Gov. Perry declares, “I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”  Possessing a siege mentality, he and “his people” see themselves in peril from “Them”.  The subtext of the ad is that the Texas Governor will stand up to “Them”, who have endangered us and our way of life.  He goes on to say, “As President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion.  And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.  Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.”  He uses code words for “hate” such as “war” and “attack”, and emphasizes a “Them versus Us” mentality.  He portrays Christians like himself being under siege by homosexuals, liberals and President Obama (as himself and as a representative of the Moslems.  (Note 2))  Gov. Perry sets himself up as a Christian warrior ready to slay the non-human Others that threaten us.  These people, whom he implicates as not being Christian, are not worthy of anyone’s respect.  Only Gov. Perry and “his people” and their safety are what matters.

This ad could be considered to be “hate speech”.  To understand it fully, we need to decode the language in it.  The words of hate do not always include that particular word but do create a wall between “Them and Us”.  The sad thing about the ad is that neither Gov. Perry nor “his people” see it as hate speech but as a positive statement of the truth.

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Notes

Note 1:  “Strong” by Gov. Rick Perry can be found at his campaign website “Rick Perry for President”.  It was broadcasted 7 December 2011. 

Note 2:  Various reviews of “Strong”, the ad conclude that the reference to the President is code for those who believe that President Obama is a secret Moslem.

Negative Energy: Hate (1 of 3)

Not thinking the word “hate” is something that I do most of the time.  Since “hate” is not a subject that comes up in my life, I have no reason to think or use the word.  Nor do I use the word instead of “dislike”. The few times that “hate” did enter my thoughts were usually when I read certain titles.  For me, calling a movie “10 Things I Hate About You” belittles the emotion itself, especially when “dislike” is the emotion being emphasized.

To be told not to think about the word “hate” for a week became a different matter.  In a famous experiment, people were told not think about something as obscure as “white bears”.  Of course the only thing that people constantly thought about was “white bears”.  Therefore being instructed to eliminate “hate” from my thoughts for a week backfired for me.  The word “hate” entered my mind all the time.  I would push the word away, but it became burdensome after awhile.  Eventually I gave up and decided to note the times when “hate” came up.  Also I wrote down in my journal, phrases and code words for “hate” as well.  

While I perused my Facebook messages, several of my friends referred to “Strong”, a campaign ad by Governor Rick Perry (R. Texas) (Note 1) as hate speech.  Since the ad went viral and exploded in my face, I decided to examine it, and as well as the concept of “hate speech”.  (I personally found the ad to be illogical, and factually wrong.)

Then the next day, I was enjoying listening to the Christmas music on the radio.  The song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was featured.  Derived from “The Christmas Bells” (1864) a poem by Henry Longfellow (American, 1807-1882), this carol includes the words “For hate is strong and mocks the song, Of Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Since I could not escape these conversations about hate, I decided to meditate on this emotion for a week.  What is it?  Where does it come from?  Why does it produce such a visceral reaction in our bodies?  Why is it ever present?  Hate encompasses a range of distasteful emotions, which include “abhorrence, enmity, hostility, rancor, and revenge.”  What is the focus of these feelings?  Are they from the early days of humans when strangers meant danger?

“Love” and “hate” are the twin emotions that oppose each other like analogous colors.  Each revolves around identity – should red mix with green?  Love encourages the embrace of the stranger.  In love, we offer hospitality to the wanderer to come inside and warm themselves by our fire.

Meanwhile, hate asserts the boundary between us and the stranger.  Hate protects and defends us, so we can push the unknown stranger away, who could be a dark trickster trying to destroy us.  Instead of welcoming the wanderer to our fire, we bar our door against them.

Hate also separates our shadow selves from our accepted selves.  Hate enables us to do things that we are usually reluctant to do.  Hate gives us the laser focus to move our darkness onto someone else.  Once we put these feelings outside of ourselves, we can live comfortably.