AN ANGEL COMES TO BABYLON.FRIEDRICH DÜRRENMATT.

Description

The diversity of human society and the richness of individual experiences have always inspired artists and writers to express their thoughts and feelings about the events unfolding in the world around them. Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play “An Angel Comes to Babylon” and Igor Eugen Prokop’s “Painting” both offer a kind of critique and observation of society, power, and human behavior.
The first part of the text paints an absurd, chaotic worldview before us. Poverty is banned, the new ruler is full of different plans, and the legislation deals with absurd things like regulating spitting. The military behaves oddly, and the ex-king departs with an unusual tool, a parachute. People, who are carriers of culture and art, also have a special fate: poets and musicians “fall,” and even the executioner revels at rock concerts. All of this is a kind of grotesque satire that generalizes the absurdity of human society and its absurd reactions.
However, this chaotic situation suddenly changes with the arrival of the angel. The angel descends to Babylon, bringing something with it, although it is not entirely clear what exactly. In Dürrenmatt’s works and Prokop’s painting, we often encounter such allegorical elements that hide deeper meanings. The arrival and gift of the angel create an opportunity for renewal, purification, or even reconciliation.
The painting created by Prokop carries on this allegorical meaning. The size, colors, and details of the painting all contain a kind of metaphor about society and politics. Through the acrylic painting, we see the world from a new perspective, where the depicted world unfolds before us through the visual elements and symbols. The biological structure it builds can symbolize the complexity of society, the network of relationships, and the tensions or balances between individual parts.