Picasso's Guernica
A multimedia exhibition featuring the story behind Pablo Picasso’s famous Guernica painting is now underway at UBC Okanagan. The exhibition is open to the public and runs from March 1 to 30 in the Arts Building (open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.).
The show comprises 26 text and image panels outlining the history of the Guernica’s creation, a large reproduction of the painting, and a video.”Picasso’s Guernica is considered one of the 20th century’s most compelling works of art,” says Dr. Mercedes Duran-Cogan, Asst. Prof. with UBC Okanagan’s Department of Critical Studies. “This multimedia presentation explores the history of the painting and the global impact of the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939.”
An audiovisual presentation will be shown in the space outside ART 170 in the Arts Building on March 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. and again during the official commemoration of the exhibition, March 21.
The original Guernica is a massive monochromatic black and white mural rendered in the Cubist style. Inspired by the devastating aerial attack on the Basque city of Guernica at the outset of the Spanish Civil War, it is possibly Picasso’s best-known work.
Guernica is a small village in the Basque country of northern Spain, considered the cultural capital of the Basque people since time immemorial. It had no strategic value as a military target. However, on April 26, 1937, Guernica was virtually destroyed by the Condor Legion (an adjunct of the Luftwaffe), part of the aerial force of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
The exhibition was developed by the Spanish Embassy to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. After being shown in numerous universities throughout Canada, it is coming to UBC Okanagan thanks to the efforts of Dr. Duran-Cogan with the support of the Critical Studies Department.
On March 21 an official ceremony will take place in Arts Building ART 376 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The ceremony will include a presentation by Dr. Arturo Giraldez, Professor with the University of the Pacific, a viewing of the audiovisual presentation, music, open discourse about the painting and the Spanish Civil War, and refreshments. Members of the community are invited to attend this free event.
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