Contemporary Artists and The Scream

If you conjure the image of the scream in art, Edvard Munch’s interpretation automatically comes to mind. After all, the iconic skeletal figure with an open mouth and hands blocking the ears is reproduced everywhere—from t-shirts to coffee mugs, from posters to phone cases. But the scream continues to plague contemporary artists. Whereas Munch’s scream is silent, the scream in contemporary art is loud. Munch’s scream is universal and existential in nature. It reflects the anxiety, depression, and alienation of just being and the reality of an ever-present threat of death.

Contemporary artists also see the scream as an expression of existential dread but in their works, it becomes a cry of anguish and psychological distress. Artists become witnesses to the horrors and violence of war; they face postwar trauma; they see the solitude and suffering of humanity in an ever-disconnected world. They depict their internal terror and vulnerability. On the other hand, contemporary women artists have often used the scream as a powerful and positive tool to express rage, to counteract social silencing and as a form of political protest.

Edvard Munch The Scream 1910

The Scream was inspired by a panic attack Munch experienced while walking in Oslo. He described what he felt as “an endless scream passing through nature” with the sky “turning red."

Francis Bacon Study for a Head 1952

The scream in Francis Bacon’s work has “teeth”; therefore, the scream is very human. It is raw and animalistic: the face is distorted, and the figure is positioned inside a cage, often surrounded by hanging animal carcasses. Some critics see Bacon’s entire body of work as a scream—a constant reminder of raw feelings, suffering, powerlessness, terror, and vulnerability.

Ennio Finzi Maternity 1953

Ennio Finzi transformed the classical depiction of a serene Madonna and Child into the image of a desperate mother pressing her infant to her chest. The figure of the child is so distorted that it is almost unrecognizable. The mother’s mouth is open as if screaming, and the child appears to have a gaping hole where the ear should be. Perhaps the mother is holding a dead child.

Zoran Music We Are Not the Last 1974

Zoran Mušič was often referred to as the "painter of death." Having spent a year in the Dachau concentration camp, many of his works depict the horrific experiences he lived through. The piece shown here is part of a series entitled We Are Not the Last, which he created thirty years after his release. Three dying or dead figures lie on the floor with gaping mouths, as if screaming in unison against the cruelty and barbarism inflicted upon them. The figure on the far left looks straight at the viewer, rendering us incapable of looking away.

Christopher Madden The Scream 2018

In Madden’s work, a giant, bodiless head in the middle of a desolate landscape is screaming. The teeth confirm its humanity, although it resembles a depiction of a massive, screaming tree. In the artist’s words, the scream was intended to reflect “physical impotence” and “environmental anxiety.”

Shirin Neshat Rage 1998

Neshat’s work is motivated by protest and a desire to “unleash rage” against the oppression of Iranian women. In the piece Rage, verses from Ferdowsi's The Book of Kings cover the woman's screaming face. This artistic choice creates a dialogue between Iran's historical narratives and its contemporary struggles for justice by juxtaposing classical Persian poetry with a modern image of anguish.

Marina Abramović The Scream 2013

Abramović set up a frame in the very landscape that inspired Munch's The Scream. Three hundred Oslo residents—ranging from a judge to a convicted murderer—were invited to step into the frame and scream. For many of them, it was the first time they had expressed such raw emotion. Even today, visitors can go to Oslo’s Ekebergparken and scream into the frame.

Jean Smith Ruff Collar #25

The ruff collar squishes the woman's face into a shape reminiscent of the figure in Munch's The Scream. The key difference is that in this work, the lips are tightly shut, signifying the role society has long imposed on women: “remain silent, stay composed, and act ladylike.” Doesn’t that make you want to throw something against a wall or, better yet, just let out a scream?

Faith Ringgold The Screaming Woman 1981

Ringgold implies a muffled scream in a face full of rage at the violence committed against Black children—a rage that is often invalidated, stigmatized, and minimized in a culture dominated by white males.