THE LINDBLUM TRIBUNE
Vol. XX, No. 6,456
LINDBLUM, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18TH, 1800.
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Derided by critics, the controversial painting "Massacre in Burmecia" embodies the anti-war sentiment
By Jules C. Melville
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The biennial art exhibition, traditionally organized in the Dark City of Treno by the Royal Society of Fine Arts, was greeted with a surprise that caused a stir when a single painting emerged as the focal point during the evening of June 16th. The work, titled "Massacre in Burmecia", an acrylic painting by Burmecian artist Durren that depicts a silhouette amidst the ruins, was met with mixed reviews.
Donovan Caraway, the exhibition's curator, explained that the work was dismissed by critics as being "too literal and too dreamlike at the same time". According to Donovan, "the artist clearly condemns the recent Alexandrian invasion of Burmecia, but does not portray the conflict in a realistic setting, opting instead for the use of primary colors and an abstract approach that departs from classical paintings, making the scene appear to be coming out of a dream, or a nightmare in this case. Some thought it was great, others hated it due to the unconventional art methods".
This particular choice divided everyone's opinions on the painting. Durren has stated that he began to work on Massacre as soon as he heard about the war unfolding in his homeland. When asked how long it took him to finish the painting, the artist said: "It took three months to finish while I lived in the Industrial District. I heard from friends and familiars, through letters and conversions, about the war and the casualties that followed. When I made this painting, I was not in Burmecia at the time. Not my body. You could say I was there, in spirit".
Regarding the criticism, Durren acknowledges the impact of his work, stating that "I thought it would go unnoticed, that my painting was unimportant compared to other artist's works, but somehow it ended up in the eyes of the upper class, some of whom didn't know there was a conflict. I was accused of being overly sentimental by taking sides with the innocents, by presenting the Burmecians as victims of war and one critic said that my people didn't deserve all this sympathy, considering the long history of hostilities between my country and the others. Now they hate it, but with time and a shift in their views, they will come to appreciate it for what it is. Or not".
Hamilton, art critic, also commented on Massacre, saying that he was "very fond of it as the embodiment of the overall anti-war sentiment that permeates every nation, though others may have a hard time to appreciate Durren's work. It's a war painting, but there are no soldiers in it, or even a battle. What you see is the aftermath of war, the skies covered in flames and an unidentified figure in the middle, the sole living being in a conflict responsible for the systematic destruction of an entire society". On the painting's significance, he later opined that "the silhouette doesn't make it clear who it is, some believe it's the artist himself imagining those ruins he's heard about, but the shadowy figure could belong to a man, a woman or even a child. A child? You may ask, since the silhouette seems to belong to an adult, and I answer that it could have been a child who lost their innocence, as many did during the conflict".
"Massacre at Burmecia" is currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Treno, where the art exhibition has been held since 1667.