Study Task 1

Dove of Peace, Picasso.

First Things First, A Manifesto, 1964. - 'By far the greatest effort of those working in the advertising industry are wasted on these trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity.'

One artist who can be used as a good example of working towards national prosperity and good will is Picasso. With the dove of peace Picasso created an extraordinarily powerful and lasting political symbol, adopted by campaigners for peace, liberation and equality around the globe. Doves had a highly personal significance for Picasso, going back to childhood memories of his father painting the doves that were kept in the family home. Picasso's early painting, A Child with a Dove 1901 illustrates the artist identification with the weak and vulnerable, and symbolises a universal longing for safety and protection. The image of the dove is closely associated with the relationship between Peace and the suffering of women and children in all wars. 100,000 badges of the dove of peace were distributed in the Marseilles region of the French Communist Party. 

A telegram sent to Picasso on 24th October 1956, and signed by the Political Office of the French Communist Party, reads:

'Dear Picasso comrade at the time of your seventy fifth birthday... You chose to be with the people, because your heart beats with that of the people... Thanks dear comrade Picasso for all that you made to bring the intellectuals closer to the working class.'

Communist Party Polit Bureau of Picasso's Paris neighborhood wrote in 1962:

'...A little of this honour reflects back on us who can count in our rows the generous artist who is a man of conscience, who has received the reward of this high distinction. Born from your genius, the Dove of Peace guides the flight of millions of men of all continents toward a world where war will be banished.'

Scarf for World Festival of Youth, Vienna 1959, Picasso. Picasso uses a metaphor in the white dove to represent the purity in peace; it is used universally to symbolise peace. 

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth - Bruce Mau:

'Work the metaphor- every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.'