Goya's "The Third of May" and a Modern Day Comparisson

Francisco Goya’s painting "The Third of May" shows an injustice unknown to the general population at that time. Artist’s like Goya can used their paintings the same way that news journalists may use photographs. Because the internet, telephone, or even telegraph did not exist in Goya’s time, paintings could be used as an informational media.

On a side note, One could argue that paintings provided a less accurate depiction of an event than photography or film could have, but I think that modern news informants can also manipulate, misconvey, or simply make-up data in a way that makes this point irrelevant. Here is an articles in which a false fact is given. Here is an article which explores the perception of news bias. Art has long been used as a tool to point out injustices in the world, and in the 19th century, photography has been a main media of choice. I think that Goya and other artists use studio art to convey a message in a more multifaceted way than photography. Studio art allows the artist to inject his or her emotion into the actual visuals. An example of emotion conveyed through the composition of the image as opposed to simply the subject is “The Scream”.

The colors, lines, and exaggerated features of the painting portray stress and a anguish. Goya's cause and the emotional qualities of "The Scream" remind me of a modern injustice that invoked the creativity and a sense of justice from artists: Modern day slavery. Currently, there are 70,000,000 slaves in the world (more than anytime other time in history) ,and artists are starting to take notice. Designers Against Child Slavery, is an organization aimed at raising awareness to this issue. View a video about their purpose and first exhibition. A particular piece uses a digital media and creates a piece with comic book influences, but the colors and exaggerated facial features portray intense emotion, similar to "The Scream". It uses this emotion to draw attention to a certain injustice in the same way as Goya. Although people have modern medias for news, people are still using classic techniques to raise awareness for a cause.