A Call to Action Favorite 

This piece is fascinating because of its use of just a few words and country names, muted colors, and the recreation of famous art. The artist used this canvas to depict a concern about events happening in the Gaza strip. The piece reads “Israel USA Murderers” and “Europe Silence Accomplice.” Through this art, the artist is trying to explain their anger with Israel violating Palestinian human rights in Gaza, along with the concern that Europe just stands by and does nothing to stop it, making them just as guilty. They obviously believe that Israel and the United States are working together to further the violence and cause more murders. It is not clear in the picture when this piece is from, but because the fight in Gaza is decades-long and continues today, it could be relevant at any time.
The artist uses a small canvas and a stake, making it seem like it could be used to be carried around almost like a picket or a protest sign and is meant to be seen as a call to action. The colors are muted and not bright which makes it seem dark and concerning. There are blood droplets from the words making murderers and accomplices connected to the deaths of people. The artwork in the middle of the painting is a tie to Picasso’s famous Guernica painting. This is an important connection to draw in people from Spain since Picasso painted Guernica as a protest against military atrocities against civilians in Spain. This painting is very important to Spain and can also be seen in the Reina Sofia.
The artist who painted this piece likely used the famous Picasso work to remind Spaniards how it felt to be attacked. By connecting this piece, the artist tries to show the suffering of innocent victims caused by war. You can see the suffering on the people's faces and you can see the death and destruction with the bones and limbs of people and the terror and screaming. While it is true that innocent people are caught in the conflict on the Gaza strip, it is an oversimplification of the situation to say that some entire countries are murderers and others are accomplices based on their involvement or lack of involvement. In this painting, and with the connection with Spain, the artist believes that Europeans should not just be sitting by while this conflict continues and innocent people die. They suggest that by sitting silently they are accomplices and have just as much fault. There is no suggestion of what to do, but it can still be seen as a call to action - making people think they need to get involved to stop the conflict. They are using art as a means to get their point across and have others become engaged in the fight. This is a call to action.