Being the power to take action due to its universal intelligibility, art has been used as an important communication tool from the past to the present by blending both rational and emotional expression. Art has the power to challenge, question, create community out of crowds and criticize; and we see art not as a pause or a possibility of escape, but as a tool to understand the difficult and troubled times we are in, especially in these days, when we watch the state of the world with fear after Covid-19 entered into our lives. Even years ago, various cultures and artists faced wars, uprisings, disasters and epidemics, and expressed their struggles through art. 

We know that, as in the past, art production will continue now, regardless of its method. Given the situation we are in, it will be inevitable that people will turn to art with various different demands, such as being comforted, seeking a community where they can shelter, and feeding themselves. Throughout history, many artists who have faced various challenges, from Picasso to Monet, have benefited from the power of art to attract attention and comfort. We looked at some of the works that were produced to show the obstacles that people experienced at that time.

Pablo Picasso - Guernica

 One of Pablo Picasso's most famous works, Guernica, is one of the most powerful political statements that emerged during the Spanish Civil War as a reaction to the Nazis’ devastating bombing of the city of Guernica, the majority of which was made up of the Basque people. Revealing the tragedies of the war and the pain it caused to many people, especially innocent civilians, Guernica was exhibited on a short tour around the world when it was completed and received great acclaim. This exhibition tour helped direct the world's attention to the Spanish Civil War. Over the years, the work of art gained a monumental status and made history as one of the most important examples of peace, keeping alive the memory of the Spanish Civil War as a symbol of protest.

'' While Picasso was living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, when a German officer visited his apartment and saw a photo of Guernica, then he asked “Did you do this?”, and Picasso replied; "No, you did."

Egon Schiele - Edith with Striped Dress, Sitting

 Being the last major flu epidemic of the 20th century, Spanish Flu is one of the most devastating health crises in history. Among those infected with the disease, which affected a quarter of the world's population from 1918 to 1920, are the famous Austrian painter Egon Schiele and his wife Edith. In this period full of chaos and pessimism during World War I and a health crisis, Schiele's portrait named "Edith in Striped Dress Sitting," has become one of the artist's most famous works with the sense of peace and tranquility it gives to the audience. Including his wife many times in his works when he finished his service in the war and returned to his country, Schiele in this work, which is not an exception, is interpreted as depicting Edith in vivid colors and with an expression full of innocence as if she was not affected by the conditions of the period, seeing her as a symbol of escape from the reality of the period. The works of Schiele, who passed away for the same reason three days after his wife died due to the Spanish Flu in October 1918, reveal the artist's incredible talent and potential and raise the question; "What masterpieces would he have brought to life if he hadn't died at the age of 28?” 

Claude Monet - Camille on Her Deathbed

 Known as "romantic disease" because it is thought to cause poetic and artistic qualities in those who got sick and caused a quarter of the deaths in Europe in the 19th century, tuberculosis was described by many artists, including Monet, with their personal experiences. “Camille on Her Deathbed,” in which Claude Monet portrays his wife Camille, who suffers from this disease, is one of the artist's most powerful and touching works. It shows the whole reality of the disease with its devastating effects, while making its audience feel the bond between the two. Camille Monet caught the disease in 1876 and died three years later on 5 September 1879. Monet used most of the money he earned from the sale of his paintings to pay for his wife's medical care, and Monet's painting of his wife, who became pale and exhausted day by day due to tuberculosis, was interpreted as a last attempt he made to keep his memory alive after her death.

'' Monet, described his painting “Camille on Her Deathbed,” with the following sentences: "Camille looks out from the tip of her veil with her ice-blue dull eyes, as if she were in a frozen pond. She smiles slightly, but not thanks to my comforting words. God help me, the only thing I could think about for not losing my mind in the process was how to balance the blues and greys.’’

Felix Gonzales Torres - Portrait of Ross

Killing about 770,000 people since the 1980s, AIDS is one of the epidemics that still has its effect today. Felix Gonzales-Torres and his significant other Ross Laycock are among those affected by the disease, which has particularly affected disadvantaged minorities and the LGBTQI+ community since it was discovered.  Gonzales-Torres's Installation, “Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L. A.)”, is an allegorical representation of Ross, the artist's partner who died of the disease, during the AIDS epidemic that reached its peak in America in the 1990s. The installation consists of about 80 kilograms of candies, in line with Ross' weight before the disease. In this installation, candies, the amount of which decreases as viewers consume throughout the exhibition, are a representation of Ross’ body, which lost weight day by day due to the AIDS virus. Succumbed to the same disease 5 years after his lover Ross, Gonzales-Torres draws attention to HIV, which still remains taboo in society, his participant-oriented work continues its influence many years later. 

'' As candies are eaten and the body begins to disappear, love remains.

Dorothea Lange - Migrant Mother

The Great Depression or World Economic Depression in the 1930s is an economic disaster that affected the whole world, especially North America and Europe, leaving many people homeless and unemployed. “Migrant Mother”, a photograph of Florence Owens Thompson and her children (one of the poor families to which the state offered housing support due to this crisis) taken by Dorothea Lange, has been interpreted as the most striking indicator of the impact of this period on society, and has become a symbol of the Great Depression. Lange, who does not describe her photographs as art, has stated that the main purpose of her works is to trigger social change. The artist's previous work, usually consisting of portraits, had a great influence on the development of documentary photography, and then she turned into photographing this crisis. The works by Lange, who died in 1965, received great attention in world-famous museums and became a pioneer in the field of photography. The artist's ability to reflect the story behind her works continues to affect people today.

,, Photography takes a cross-section of time, and changes life by keeping it fixed.