London Bridge, complexity & "Guernica"
Like everyone else, we are taking a pause today in our manifesto series, with respect to the victims of the terrible London Bridge attack last night. At the very least, events like this require us to stand back and consider the complexity and multitude of factors that might "explain" such a destructive action.
Art helps us do this, by inviting us to dwell in complexity. In response to the Manchester attack, we fell upon a poem by Rose Flint, 'Because'. In response to London Bridge, it struck us at A/UK that gazing upon Picasso's great Guernica painting from 1937 - still, after all this time - might be worthwhile.
The psychology of any act of violence, the culture which gives rise to it as well as the heart that is occluded by it, are all factors that Picasso depicts timelessly. What other artwork renders the whole of human conflict, its inner and outer realms, better than this? (If you do know of any better, please do mail us, and we will add them to this post).
More: Jonathan Jones on Guernica's continuing power.