The artist used jagged lines to create the disorder and destruction surrounding the little girl. The little girl is placed slightly off-center in the foreground for the viewer in order to place greater emphasis on her, while placing the observers in the background. The most noticeable use of the elements of art is the use of only one color, red. The artist used an intense red to draw the viewer’s attention to the blood on the girl’s face and on the Red Cross men that want to help the child. The placement of the people in the artwork and the use of red place great emphasis on the child being depicted because it makes the viewer’s eyes refer back to the little girl.
The destruction surrounding the child, blood on her face, and her facial expression tells us that it is a sad and uncomfortable environment. The scene is also disturbing because the adults are not helping the innocent and crying child. Instead, they are taking advantage of her situation and documenting it for their own benefit. The artist utilizes this scene to make his audience aware of the great lengths that the news media is willing to go to in order to obtain a “touching” story.
This artwork is very powerful and thought provoking because the artist provides a different perspective for his audience about the news media. He confronts the viewer with a dramatic scene of helplessness in order to get his social message across. Therefore, this artwork successfully achieves and meets the criteria for the aesthetic theory of instrumentalism.