Self-expression and persuasion

Self-expression and persuasion

I have chosen for this work, self-expression and persuasion, as I consider them both to be very important art purposes for today’s individuals and societies.  In my opinion, The Scream, by Edvard Munch (Norwegian) equally and completely addresses these functions of art.  When I saw it for the first time, I was disturbed by what seemed to be a person in agony.  The original is shown in an Oslo museum.

​Self-expression, on one hand, is considered in individualistic cultures as the ones where most of us live, an imperative quality.  We are all, in one way or another, urged to express our ideas, our feelings, our personalities, and ourselves.   Therefore, self-expressionist art is the manifestation of how life in one-way or another impacts the artist.  It deals with happiness, sadness, in short, with life.  In this particular case (The Scream), is the expression of Munch’s feelings, even though he never really gave an accurate explanation of what they were.  This, I consider was very clever on his part since it allows us, still now, to create our own interpretation.  Persuasion, on the other hand, is the way that an artist uses to try to make someone believe something, to influence us to action and opinion.  This kind of art covers many possibilities:  a painting, songs, adds used in marketing, TV commercials, and movies, among others.   In The Scream, I think the author was trying to persuade us to consider that life is a struggle; to stop and deeply reflect on this matter.