Making a Statement

The picture in our book of Interrogation II by Leon Golub really got me thinking about how horrible torture and war are.

 The picture made me think of a prisoner of war being tortured in order to make him tell information. Golub did an excellent job of portraying the emotions of each of the men. The man standing on the gives the impression that he has seen this happen many times and this is nothing new to him. The other three interrogators appear to be having a good time with the torture. They are making playful motions with their hands and they have evil grins on their faces. The image of the prisoner is what really strikes me. He is tied to a chair after being stripped of all his clothing. Golub did a good job by putting a black bag over the prisoner's head. It helps to show how the man is completely helpless, and will only have a slight clue of what is coming next by the sounds that the interrogators make.

Interrogation II and Golub's other paintings are perfect examples of propaganda in art. They show Golub's feelings on war and in particular America's presence in Vietnam. Many of his paintings showed the contrast between submissive figures such as a man being tortured and sadistic figures such as the men seeming to enjoy the torturing. His highly political works often seem to portray a bleak, evil world that has no hope for redemption. I think that his works did a very good job of showing the evils which often take place during wars.