A Rhetorical Analysis on Anti - War Art Activism - Pawel Kuczynski

Denise Martin

Dr. Elif Guler

Longwood University

[MLA Formatting]

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Introduction

In 2012 at the National Arts Policy Roundtable, Robert Redford said, “The country is so

wounded, bleeding, and hurt right now. The country needs to be healed—it’s not going to be

healed from the top, politically. How are we going to heal? Art is the healing force” (Phillips,

“Quotes About The Benefits of Art”). Art activism is a relatively new movement in the art

community. Art activism can be described as a way an artist can use their innovative talents to

communicate for social justice issues. Pawel Kuczynski is a

Polish artist most known for his satirical paintings. His paintings

comment on issues he sees in society that range from the public’s

dependency on social media to the corruption of politicians. He

has won more than 102 awards and in 2005 he received the Eryk

prize from the Association of Polish Caricature Artists

(Kuczynski, “Pawel Kuczynski”). He is also known for his anti-

war perspective paintings. The world is constantly at war.

Unfortunately, war is a theme of life that is timeless. Pawel

Kuczynski has released many paintings that expression his

aversion to violence. This rhetorical analysis will focus on

interpreting three of his paintings that share a similar anti-war view and all utilize the dove of

peace.

The symbol of the dove with an olive branch is the international symbol for peace. Pawel

Kuczynski utilizes the dove of peace in very diverse ways. The first painting that will be

analyzed is from 2006 and features a child with a military hat on (See Fig. 1). The child is sitting

(Fig. 1) Pawel Kuczynski, 2006.

http://pawelkuczynski.com

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on the floor surrounded by army men toys, but in his hands

he is playing with the dove. The second painting uses the

dove, but in a very different way (See Fig. 2). This painting

is also from 2006 and it features a soldier holding the dove.

However, in contrast to playing with a toy, he is plucking off

the feathers one by one until all the feathers are gone. There

is a speech bubble that reads, “...War? No war? War? No

war?” The third painting is from 2007 and it features the

dove sitting on a branch (See Fig. 3). The dove is

accompanied by vultures, which one vulture fully encasing

the dove with one of its wings. In the background, there is a

tank that is approaching what appears to be the ruins of a city. These three paintings are grouped

together in this analysis because it is important to reflect on what was happening in the world

during 2006-2007. One large factor that

influenced several countries was the Iraq War.

The Iraq War lasted from 2003 - 2011 and

Poland, the home country of Pawel Kuczynski,

played a large role in assisting the United States

with their invasion of Iraq (“Coalition Forces in

Iraq”). The reason why they played such a large

role is unclear, but that political climate and state

of war would have heavily influenced Pawel Kuczynski. Kuczynski started his satirical style

drawings in 2004, which supports the theory that the Iraq War was one of the events he drew

(Fig. 2) Pawel Kuczynski, 2006. http://pawelkuczynski.com

(Fig. 3) Pawel Kuczynski, 2007. http://pawelkuczynski.com

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inspiration from. Additionally, in 2006 there was the Lebanon War. The Lebanon War was a 34-

day war between Lebanon, Northern Israel and the Golan Heights. This is important because in

the third painting being analyzed, there is a tank in the background approaching the ruins of a

city and during this time in global history there were tanks approaching old cities in northern

Israel (“Lebanon/Israel: Hezbollah Rockets Targeted Civilians in 2006 War”). While there is not

an obvious connection between the Lebanon War and the third painting in this analysis, it is

important to recognize that the world had several major military conflicts during the time

Kuczynski was creating these paintings.

Method

To make better sense of the implications of Pawel Kuczynski’s work for social change,

this analysis will mainly focus on visual rhetoric, such as presentational symbolism and body

rhetoric. Another course concept this analysis will explore is semiotics. This analysis will also

utilize Aristotle's three modes of persuasion, ethos, logos, and pathos. These concepts will help

one better understand the meaning behind the art as well as the call for change present in the

paintings.

Analysis

To better understand Pawel Kuczynski’s work, this analysis will start with the

exploration of the course concepts relevant to his paintings. First, what is rhetoric? In Rhetoric in

Civic Life, Catherine Palczewski, Richard Ice, and John Fritch describe rhetoric as “the use of

symbolic action by human beings to share ideas” (6). Human action is expressive. People

communicate their ideas through symbols to make change. Therefore, visual rhetoric is that same

idea, but the ideas are communicated through the senses, like sight. This analysis will focus

primarily on visual rhetoric because the rhetorical artifacts being examined are paintings.

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What are symbols? Symbols can be described as “an arbitrary representation of

something else, a word, an image, or an artifact that represents a thing, thought, or action”

(Palczewski et al. 6). Paintings are made up of symbols. The best category of symbolism to put

art in is presentational symbolism. Presentational symbolism is “a direct presentation of an

individual object that widens our conception of rationality far beyond the traditional boundaries”

(Palczewski et al. 53). The point of art is to change one’s perception on a particular issue through

symbols. Kuczynski’s paintings revolve around war and the implications of war. For example,

the symbol that connects all three paintings together is the dove of peace.

The Dove of Peace was designed by Pablo Picasso and chosen as the international

symbol of Peace at the First International Peace Conference in 1949 ("Dove of Peace, 1949 by

Pablo Picasso”). Picasso was chosen to design this image to represent peace because he has a

work entitled Guernica, which is recognized as a very moving anti-war painting (See Fig. 4).

Understanding the meaning behind the dove is instrumental in understanding the work of Pawel

Kuczynski. Each painting utilizes the dove in

different ways. The first painting pictures the

dove as a toy (See Fig. 1). This comments on

the way a child is raised. One chooses what

toys they let their children play with. The toy

army men in the righthand corner is placed

there to contrast the toy dove. The army men toys are a recognizable symbol of affiliation with

the military. If all children know is violence and war, how will they know that peace is an

option? The second painting uses the dove in a completely different way (See Fig. 2). The dove

in this painting is getting its feathers plucked off. This painting comments on how war is a

Guernica, Pablo Picasso https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp

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choice, but it can sometimes feel like it was just the luck of the draw. There is no reason behind a

choice like the one featured in the painting. One could also say that the soldier in the image is

deliberately destroying the symbol for peace, which has the implications that peace is not

important to soldiers. The last painting has the dove observing an attack on a branch while

vultures surround the dove. This comments on the corruption of the symbol for peace. Vultures

are usually painted in a negative or evil light when used in art. The vultures in the painting are

preventing the dove from taking action, which could be part of Kuczynski’s call to action

message about preventing war. As far as other symbols in the painting, there is a tank

approaching ruins where the tank represents a military force about to attack.

Another concept that is relevant to analyzing visual rhetoric is body rhetoric. Body

rhetoric can be described as “rhetoric that foregrounds the body as part of the symbolic action”

(Palczewski et al. 77). This is important in the first painting because the child is wearing a

military hat (See Fig. 1). This alludes to the idea that the child is growing up in a military

household. It further supports the theory that Kuczynski is commenting on how a child is raised

in the context of war and violence. Body rhetoric is also seen in the second painting (See Fig. 2).

The man in the image can be identified as a soldier because of his hat and uniform. Furthermore,

the uniform in the image is very similar to the United States uniform for its soldiers. This man

could represent the United States military, who Kuczynski might blame for Poland’s

involvement in the Iraq War.

Semiotics is another way to better understand the meaning behind Kuczynski’s paintings,

especially the second painting. Semiotics “describe the relationship among signs, meanings, and

referents” (Palczewski et al. 42). Semiotics can be used to connect the meaning behind art and

social life. For example, semiotics recognizes the distinction between the meaning of a word or

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phrase and the connotation behind it. A connotation is “the emotional or cultural meaning

attached to a sign” (Palczewski et al. 43). A sign visual in Kuczynski’s second painting is the

thought bubble above the soldier that says, “…War? No War? War? No War?” There is a

connotation behind this because it refers to a cultural understanding. The idea of picking parts of

an item like a flower to decide whether or not to ask someone out on a date or decide if one is

loved by another is a common practice, especially among youth in the United States. By using

this idea, Kuczynski can communicate that war is not rationally decided on in his opinion. It

supports the feeling that there is not much reason behind a blind choice based on the luck of the

draw.

The last valuable way this analysis will attempt to better understand Kuczynski’s work is

through Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion. The first is ethos, which is “in the character of the

speaker” (Palczewski et al. 15). An example of ethos in the paintings is Pawel Kuczynski’s

signature in each one of them. This allows the audience to trust the message behind the paintings

because of his following and credibility as a well-known awarded artist. The second is logos,

which “relies on the argument itself, by showing or seeming to show something” (Palczewski et

al. 15). Kuczynski shows his argument through the visual of the painting. Logos is harder to see

because one must interpret his argument based on the visual rhetoric. The third and most

prevalent appeal is pathos, which “leads the audience to feel emotion” (Palczewski et al. 15).

Kuczynski’s paintings get their power from making the audience feel emotion. In the first

painting, there is a child (See Fig. 1). By using a child, Kuczynski can pull on the heartstrings of

anyone who has a child or wants a child. Children usually represent a sort of innocent that one

sees violated by the military symbols surrounding the child. In the second painting, the dove is

brutally getting its feathers ripped off (See Fig. 2). Again, there is a sense of violation. This

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raises concern among the audience for the dove’s safety in the hands of a soldier. The painting

effectively makes the audience question the intentions of the soldier, which could be exactly

what Kuczynski was trying to achieve. The third painting repeats that sense of violation through

how the vultures are treating the dove (See Fig. 3). The vultures are influencing the dove in a

way that the dove should not be influenced. The third painting also appeals to pathos through the

use of a tank approaching the ruins of a city. The ruins represent the history of a culture that is

about to get destroyed by a tank. That could make an audience feel concern, sorrow, or even

anger.

Conclusion

Pawel Kuczynski is a well-credited Polish artist who specializes in satirical paintings that

comment on social issues. Through the course concepts discussed, such as presentational

symbolism, body rhetoric, and semiotics, and Artistotle’s three modes of persuation, one can

better understand Kuczynski’s anti-war message. By examining his paintings critically, one can

understand his call for action against war. His argument is clearly a call for peace among nations.

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Works Cited

"Coalition Forces in Iraq." Should the US Have Attacked Iraq? Procon.org, 1 Sept. 2010. Web.

"Dove of Peace, 1949 by Pablo Picasso." Pablo Picasso. N.p., n.d. Web.

Kuczynski, Pawel. "Pawel Kuczynski." Pawel Kuczynski - Strona Główna. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Lebanon/Israel: Hezbollah Rockets Targeted Civilians in 2006 War." Human Rights Watch. N.p., 17

Apr. 2015. Web.

Palczewski, Catherine Helen., Richard Ice, and John Fritch. Rhetoric in Civic Life. 2nd ed. N.p.: Strata

Pub., 2016. Print.

Phillips, Renee. "Quotes About The Benefits of Art." The Healing Power of ART ARTISTS. N.p., Feb.

2016. Web.