Untitled

Rudolf Baranik described his creative practice as “socialist formalism,” an approach that paired humanist values (empathy, dignity, justice) with the visual aspects of abstraction (line, form, color). Baranik frequently used pictorial collage elements to evoke emotional responses and inspire empathy. This work is part of his Napalm Elegies series, inspired in part by a newspaper image of Vietnamese child badly burned by napalm. Napalm is a toxic, highly flammable gel used by American and South Vietnamese troops to target North Vietnamese combatants during the U.S. war in Vietnam (1955–1975). Napalm bombs also killed and maimed thousands of Vietnamese civilians. Composed of various white and gray elements set against a shadowy void of deep black, this and other works in the series relied on the public’s understanding of napalm as a horrific weapon and a potent signifier of an unjust war.