Presentation

Kelly J. Morton

HUM200
 z My second work is a novel by English author
My first work is a large, grey, black, and white
oil painting on canvas, created in the home of
Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso in Paris, during
the year 1937. The painting now housed in
the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid is
called Guernica.
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-
SA.
1. Overview
Mary Shelley titled Frankenstein, or the Modern
Prometheus: Originally published in
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Project
Gutenberg, 1993) The version I am reading is
English not the French translation. It was
created in London and was released on the first
of January of the year 1818.
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Theme in both works:
◦ The theme expressed through both of these
works is obviously horror but also that knowledge
can be dangerous and that man's constant
attempt at "playing God" and being consumed by
obsession often has horrific consequences
including death. I also see a commonality of the
use or representation of electricity and fire in
both pieces. Guernica, by Pablo Picasso
and Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by
Mary Shelley, both express the theme of horrific
consequence when man attempts to play the role
of God in his pursuit of knowledge, often ending
in tragedy. Both works also have a common
element of the use of electricity represented as
well, while one is used to create life, the other is
used to destroy it. However, both end in tragedy.
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2. Impact the Audience

 The theme of dangerous knowledge and mans pursuit to constantly advance

technologically is one we should all as human beings pay close attention to. As our
world constantly progresses and advances in technology we sometime lose sight of
what makes us human. Our ability to think and reason is taken over and done by
artificial intelligence and as our realities become virtual we need to stop and think
about when it will be enough if ever? In history whenever man attempts to play God
and trifles with the power of creation at some point it seems to always end up
tragically. With electricity fueling our ever advancing world of iPhone's and Artificial
Intelligence we are losing touch with what makes us human to begin with. With
computers handling our reasoning and understanding, we neglect to think critically
and analyze situations for ourselves. If we continue on this path of advancement, with
technology being the heart, and electricity being the blood it pumps, we as humans
must act as the brain. We must take clues from the humanities such as the painting
of Guernica, and the story of Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, and pay
attention to the message they are trying to communicate to us, which is that
knowledge itself can be a double edged sword. Knowledge can be used to create and
destroy. We must think about the future and realize at some point it's possible in our
pursuit of knowledge, that we will go to far in our quest to make our world virtual. The
more we allow these machines to do our thinking for us we will become desensitized
and dependent upon electronics until we lose our instincts all together, impacting all of
humanity tragically, and with disastrous consequence.
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z At the time Frankenstein was being written electricity had just been discovered and was an interesting topic for people to
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.
3. Evidence
read about. (shelleysfrankenstein.weebly.com, 2019) In Shelley's novel she refers to Prometheus and how he stole fire and
gave it to man causing progress in civilization leading Zeus to punish him by having his liver to be eaten by birds because
Zeus had already set limitations to humans in their progress by withholding fire due to unworthy sacrifices. Frankenstein
parallels this because Victors unhealthy obsession lead him to use galvanization (which is the process of using electricity to
cause muscle contractions), and alchemy, along with chemistry to create his monster in his pursuit to unlock the secrets of
life. (Wikipedia.org, 2019). The story is of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster with the use of
electricity and scavenged body parts. "Victor creates the monster because he wants to beat nature and God by bringing
something dead back to life. He is successful, but nature does end up rejecting the monster anyway. Victor defies nature in
order to obtain glory. He thinks that by creating his monster he will obtain glory." (Weebly.com, 2019) The Weebly.com site
continues to elaborate by stating that, "Victor searches for knowledge everywhere throughout the book and he is always
searching for the wrong reasons. He wants to find glory by being the first to create a living creature from the dead. This
all backfires on him because he finds no glory, but instead his entire family ends up dead as either a direct or indirect result
of the creation. This shows how many bad things can come from pursuing knowledge for glory. Shelley proves this
throughout the book." (Weebly.com, 2019) '"The biggest symbols throughout Frankenstein are Light and Fire. Both fire and
light are good and bad. They each bring good things and bad. Light is usually used to when talking about knowledge and
new discoveries. This helps support the theme of pursuing knowledge for glory. For the monster, and people in general, light
seems safer and therefore we gravitate towards it. However, the light allows the humans to see the monster which therefore
leaves the monster alone and without friends. Fire symbolizes nature. Nature doesn't reject him at first, but eventually it
is obvious that nature does reject the monster. This becomes obvious when the monster builds a fire which at first warms
him, but then burns him." (Weebly.com, 2019) https://frankensteinap.weebly.com/why.html In the Picasso painting known
as Guernica, we see the artists depiction of the aftermath of the bombing of the town by Nazi Germany and Fascist
Italy during the Spanish Civil war. Hitler's unhealthy obsession with technology and casual bombing of the town in
partnership with Franco, shows the results of war created by humans through their use of electricity to create bombs to
terrorize people. (Trueman, 2019) The painting depicts what some refer to seeing as a type of "electric sun" during the
bombing, symbolized by a light bulb in the top center of the painting.(McKinnon, 2015) There are candles, and flames
throughout the piece as well as the disastrous results of the bombings aftermath. Guernica, is a depiction of the horrors of
war with a reference to dangerous knowledge and the consequences of technological advancements such as atomic bombs
often referring to fire or the electric sun as represented by the electric light in the top of the painting. Interpretations of
Guernica vary widely and contradict one another. This extends, for example, to the mural's two dominant elements: the bull
and the horse. Art historian Patricia Failing said, "The bull and the horse are important characters in Spanish
culture. Picasso stated that the horse represented the people of Guernica." (pablopicasso.org, 2019)In one work electricity
(or fire) is used to create the spark of life through galvanism, "(galvanism1:a direct current of electricity especially when
produced by chemical action)" (Merriam-Webster.com, 2019), that brings the creature to life bringing about death and
destruction. In the painting by Picasso, electricity (or fire) is used in the creation of atomic bombs and depicted as a burning
light bulb symbolizing the bomb being dropped on the city and the horrific and tragic aftermath that followed, best described
in this quote from research done in 2019 on the totallyhistory.com website, "Above the head of the impaled horse is a light
bulb which glares outward like an evil eye, it can also be likened to the single bulb hanging in a prison cell. Picasso may
have also intended the symbolism of the bulb to be associated with the Spanish word for light bulb which is “bombilla”.
This brings to mind the word “bomb”, which could symbolize the detrimental impact which technology can have
4. Personally
My personal experience in connection to these pieces is due to the fact that
my father recently had a heart attack and was in the hospital for a very long
time during that time he told me stories of his experiences and these two
z
works made me think of him. My father is a Vietnam veteran and lost in his
legs due to stepping on a bomb buried in the ground. The bomb blew him
into the air and my father watched his body parts fly up into the air around
him and as he hit the ground chunks of his body fell all around him. When I
see the painting, I am reminded of this story my father told me of his war
experience. He spoke of heads on the ground with their eyes and mouths
open. Animals and people on fire around him and the blinding light he saw
from above as he was collecting pieces of his body and pulling them towards
his chest so he could be put back together. Here is an image of the painting
to further understand why.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/PicassoGuernica.jpg/3
50px-PicassoGuernica.jpg)
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND.
I also know that my father and other soldiers like him had to bomb and burn
villages like the town of Guernica although for different reasons. This is
another reason this painting reminds me of him. Here is an image of a soldier
in Vietnam setting fire to a village much like the town of Guernica.
(https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2017/10/vietnam-war-photos-flames.jpg)

When I am reading the story by Shelley I am also reminded of my father as

they tried to patch and sew him back together in the V.A. hospital he often
referred to the doctors as "mad scientist" and how he felt like an experiment
much like Frankenstein's monster in the novel which was one of my dad's
favorite books to read (ironically) while he was in the hospital, as their failed
experiments caused the loss of his left and right legs over time leaving him in
a wheelchair for the rest of his life except for when he used his prosthetic
legs, which were painful to use and caused him to walk exactly as
Frankenstein's monster is portrayed as walking in the movies. My thesis
statement helps explain why I chose this theme, "Guernica, by Pablo
Picasso and Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley,
both express the theme of horrific consequence when man attempts to play
the role of God in his pursuit of knowledge, often ending in tragedy. Both
works also have a common element of the use of electricity represented as
well, while one is used to create life, the other is used to destroy it. However,
both end in tragedy." I chose the theme I did instead of anti-war because I
am going into the Information Technology field and I think it's important to
take care to preserve what makes us human while pursuing advancement. I
worry that one day technology will turn on us ending in disaster. Some could
argue it already has.
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5. Studying the
Humanities
Studying the humanities personally helps you learn how to
analyze ideas and communicate your thoughts by presenting
them in an unbiased manner with supporting evidence rather
than simply accepting your personal opinions as proof. You can
gain numerous benefits from mastering the discipline of
humanities such as critical thinking skills, "as well as better
control of your own learning and empathy for other points of
view." (linkedin.com, 2019)The humanities develop critical
thinking and reasoning which are important in the fast-changing
workplace. The skills you develop studying the humanities are
very important in today's business world. "The global knowledge
economy is driven by information and technology. One has to be
able to deal with changes quickly and effectively. The new
economy places increasing demands on flexible intellectual
skills, and the ability to analyze information and integrate diverse
sources of knowledge in solving problems." (linkedin.com,
2019)In conclusion studying the humanities helps you see things
from all perspectives allowing you to not be hindered by close
mindedness. Being an open minded individual with an unbiased
worldview is an asset whether professionally, or on a personal
level.
 6. Humanities
A situation in society that may be impacted by my theme is that some scientific
advancements not being worth the consequences and sometimes creating horrific
results and a loss of our human instincts all together. According to Karla Lant of
z Futurism.com, she believes that, "As machine learning produces virtual reality that
feels more real than ever, the divide separating “human” and “machine” is shrinking."
She also states that due to advancing virtual reality experiences, "If these artificial
sensory experiences were to work in tandem, we might not be able to tell the
difference between virtual reality and the real thing beyond actually telling ourselves
what is real and what isn’t." (Lant, 2017) In our technologically advanced world we
often see the conveniences but not the drawbacks of technology. We often push
forward pushing the envelope of bigger, better, and faster without thinking of the
consequences of these actions as well as how they affect ourselves and others in the
long run. For instance, the profession of Information Technology. Having a better
understanding of the humanities allows those in the I.T. field to advance
technologically while preserving and incorporating the best aspects of what makes us
human. Therefore, allowing us to think critically and be creative, as well as helping us
understand many different topics and gain insight into what it means to be human.
Preserving humanity in the pursuit of technology is vital in preventing disastrous
consequences. The ability to think logically and independently is what makes us
human and studying the humanities helps us make informed unbiased decisions and
think outside the box, it allows us to communicate effectively with all walks and races
of people with curiosity, creativity, and empathy. "The human touch has never been
more essential in the workplace than it is today. The job market is quietly creating
thousands of openings a week for people who can bring a humanist’s grace to our
rapidly evolving high-tech future. The more we automate the routine stuff, the more we
create a constant low-level hum of digital connectivity, the more we get tangled up in
the vastness and blind spots of big data, the more essential it is to bring human
judgment into the junctions of our digital lives." (Strauss, 2017)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/valerie-strauss/

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.

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References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso)

https://www.spanish-art.org/spanish-painting-guernica.html

https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp

http://totallyhistory.com/guernica/

https://maryshelleyfrankenstein.weebly.com/mary-shelley.html

https://maryshelleyfrankenstein.weebly.com/historical-context.html

https://shelleysfrankenstein.weebly.com/background-information.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein

https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/ks65hc50j

https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-
1980/the-spanish-civil-war/guernica/
https://futurism.com/humans-and-technology-are-becoming-one-and-
its-changing-everything

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC.