Civil+Warjosea09

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THESIS- The Civil War was revolutionary in the views of art... Art was so much more meaningful and had more of a message during the Civil War than art is in this time period.

Topic: Civil War art

Focus: Civil War art was more meaningful than art is today

Reason for Choice: I like art

primary sources: civil war art 1. [] 2. [] 3. [] 4. [] 5. [] 6. [] 7. []

today art 1. [] 2. [] 3. [] 4. []

secondary sources: 1. [] 2. [] 3. [] 4. []

4 reasons: 1. there was more heart ache

2. there were different views to paint about 1) confederate view 2) union view 3) soldiers view 4) slave views

3. people wanted to know what the war looked like 1) 4. Today's art is distracting

Essay Jose Estrada Air 6/8/09 Art in the civil war was so much more meaningful than it is today. There are numerous reasons I believe this. There was more heartache and people cared more about everything. There were also bunches of different views to paint about and to see as to there are not so many views to paint about different things. Some people might have wanted to know what the war looked like. Today's art is so distracting and is not clear enough as to what the artist is trying to tell you. These are some of the reasons why I think that art was better in that time period than it is today.

Heartache in the Civil War was contagious. People needed a scapegoat to control their emotions, so some of the people not involved in the war took up painting and drawing. They created scenes and ideas they envisioned of the war. Even though this may seem like it'd just add to their heartache, it helped them escape from the reality of what was going on. Some painted the heartaches they were in, other painted what might have been heartaches other people were in, like the soldiers. Even if you couldn't see what was going on because you weren't involved in the war there were still stories passed around so everyone knew the general idea of what it may look like... That vague image in people's minds is enough to cause any level of heartache. That isn't anything like todays pictures. When you look at a picture painted today, in my opinion, you get confused and caught up with thinking about what the image is depicting. Now, in the time of the Civil War, it was obvious what was being shown, what side of the war the person was on. Today, pictures don't have meaning, they can't influence heartache like back then paintings can.

The views of the civil was a big, big part. Everyone looked at the war in a different way; even if they were on the same side. But the biggest differences were between the confederate views, the union views, and even the slaves' views. When some one painted, or drew a picture, they tried to make people see what they felt. For instance, a confederate wife decides to paint a picture; she's going to paint something that justifies what the confederates are fighting for. She might also try to make the union look evil. A slave drawing a picture is going to show what they have to go through day after day. They're going to try to get you to fight for the cause to get them set free because God made everyone equal. A union individual is going to try to do the same thing that the confederate wife was trying to do. We can't also forget about soldiers as a whole... They'd want to paint/draw to show what they're doing, how they're living and sacrificing they're lives. Now, what sides are there to paint about today; there are many different sides, but not as open-ended and opiniated. In a political sense, you can either like president Obama, or not like president Obama; you can agree with the government or not agree with the government. In a nature sense you can agree with how everyone is going about it (example: all the precautions for global warming), or you can not agree and do your own thing. Most of the time, today there are only two sides, a black and a white. While the Civil War left opinions and views endless. I make these assumptions from viewing all different kinds of paintings and art.

In the Civil War, everyone was curious about one thing or another. There were some people who were curious about the war and what it looked like. There were some people, like merchants and people who have gone to watch some battles, who knew what the war looked like and were kind enough to share with us what they saw. When paintings and drawings were published and sent to the public, everyone had the opportunity to know what a piece of the war might have looked like, depending on what the artist saw. Now, today, everyone knows "everything" and no one is curious about different things. When someone makes an artistic piece not many people care too much. There's nothing that anyone needs to know about through a painting because we have all this new technology.

Art in this day and age is so distracting with all its colors and misshapen objects. I think creativity is a good thing, but to an extent. The things people paint today are odd and it's hard to find a painting with a straight message that you can figure out by just looking at it. If you compare a painting about the civil war with a painting from today, you'll find the civil war painting's message is more obvious than the modern day painting's. Today, you can just splatter a bunch of different color paints onto a canvas and people consider it art, there is nothing different between you splattering paint on a sheet of paper from a "professional" artist doing that, yet the artist keeps making more and more money. Most paintings made in the 21st century have shallow messages, few (in my opinion) have an actual deep and meaningful message. But when you look at the paintings from the civil war with the hundreds of soldiers charging into battle, or a still life picture of a soldier after what seems like could have been a battle, you really get a feel of what was going on, like maybe you could have been there.

So I hope you understand how I feel about this subject. You can really start to feel the way anyone else did from that time period during the Civil War when you take a gander at the masterpieces created in that time period. Everyone has a way to express themselves and most of them want to get you to feel the same way... But that isn't likely to happen if you're thinking about looking at paintings from our generation; everything is so black and white, right and wrong you'll never know what a true opinion is. By looking at the Civil War arts you'll be able to know what the war might have looked like through the eyes of different people. Distractions come from everywhere today, everything is all about bright colors and originality, sometimes dull colors and defined objects are the way to grab someones attention; not the physical attention because of all the glamour, but you're emotional attention... Your heart and soul. Art was so much more meaningful and had more of a message during the Civil War than art is in this time period.