If only wars could be surgically excised ? art as diagnostic??

I believe art can be a window to our subconscious as well as our conscious,hence it prompted me to look at the artwork of painters from Palestine and Israel because of their ongoing conflicts.


This first image is by an artist from Palestine by the name of Zuhdie al Adawi He spent time in prison and began to create his images on fabric which were smuggled out by visiting relatives as a way to communicate his experience-the barred window and fiery building dominate the painting with a dark misery related to his confinement.
Likewise , this second painter,Samar Ghttass also a palestian artist,
chose to paint an outlet ,like the window- which is a door,yes, I knew we would get that !! It is however, closed and the threshold is covered by crumbling rocks. Not particularly optimistic symbols. and yet in each painting there are symbols of HOPE and PEACE, at least that is how I see them- a rainbow in the upper one and a dove in the lower one. Even amidst trauma, the human spirit clings to HOPE-


I wonder if the pain of the traumas and restrictions prevent people from accessing their best inner resources for creating meaningful change? I know from medicine that this is so ,yet when applied to a society rooted in a long history of violence,displacement, and wars- is the human spirit so overwhelmed that they are incapable of trusting and halting their attempts for change even if it is self destructive and provocative-as is shooting rockets into a neighboring nation?

The painting here by David Gerstein,an Israeli artist,
reflects an openness, using similar symbols- here though there are open windows, playful figures, flowers and space!

Similarly,Pamela Silver's colorful, yes, vibrant rendering of a garden has trees,plants and life giving space that breaths calm and creativity.


It looks like the first set of paintings reflect a very traumatized culture who may need help sorting out viable solutions and yet, the second set of painting reflects a society with more resources to think outside the box--to react with a set of options that are not primitive, cruel and backward moving- it is like reopening a wound to such a degree that it will not heal and perhaps become outrageously infected,thus fulminating and contaminating others.

My hope is a cease fire can be brought about somehow !!!