In what historical context was Pablo Picasso’s Guernica created? How did the traditions of world art influence the imagery and pictorial style of the painting? Why did Guernica become such an important symbol in contemporary culture? To mark the painting’s 85th anniversary, this issue of Sreda online magazine brings you a podcast in which students of the European University at Saint Petersburg’s School of Arts and Cultural Heritage present their views on Guernica’s significance, then and now.
The text was written under the direction of the art historian Natalia Mazur, and read by the actors Anastasia Teplinskaya, Bogdan Kiyashko, Sergey Kotyukh, and Semen Barkov.
The music to this podcast was composed and performed by the ensemble KYMATIC soloists Anton Izgagin and Sergey Zykov. The main instrument used in the recording is a viola da gamba, an instrument that originates from Valencia, Spain, the sound of which has been modified by 8-bit sampling, cassette and microcassette recording, tape slowdown, and various other effects.