BY MARK GERTLER (1891 - 1939)

"Ideas for future pictures come to me very often and these ideas are so mysterious and wonderful that when they come over me - they come in waves - I get so excited and feel so physically weak that I can hardly stand." Mark Gertler, August 1915.

"I paint pictures which seem to me wonderful but no one understands them." Mark Gertler, May 1916.

'Merry-Go-Round' was painted in 1916 by Mark Gertler. Gertler was the youngest of five children born in the East End Jewish community of Spitalfield in London. His parents were recent immigrants from the Polish province of Austria-Hungary. As a child Gertler had showed great promise as an artist and as a result he was funded by 'The Jewish Educational Aid Society' to study painting at the 'Slade School of Art' where he won a number of prizes for his work.

Gertler painted 'Merry-Go-Round' in 1916 at the height of the First World War, shortly after he had left the 'New English Art School' an institute who's allegiance had been directed to new 'Modern' forms of Art (Riggs, 1). Gertler had strong pacifist views and it was the strength of those views that excused him his military service (as a conscientious objector) for the duration of the First World War (Riggs, 2). 'Merry-Go-Round' was a painting that Gertler may have intended for exhibit, but at the time it was probably painted more for the benefit and appreciation of a select band of intellectuals with whom he had become close friends, these included amongst others Rupert Brook and D.H.Lawrence. The problem with releasing anything that might have been viewed by the public as anti-war material, (which Merry-Go-Round almost certainly would have been), was that it was likely to have been criticised for being unpatriotic. It is difficult to say, because of a lack of personal testimony, whether or not Gertler had intended it for public consumption at the time it was painted. What is known is that 'one gallery had refused to show any of Gertler's work,' purely because he was a conscientious objector.

Gertler had painted 'Merry-Go-Round' shortly after the 'Battle of the Somme' (1916). The 'Battle of the Somme' was the worst defeat the British army had ever suffered. It was a specific moment in time, a moment that clearly affected Gertler, who said of his painting that "the trouble is that I never set out to paint to please. My greatest spiritual pleasure in life is to paint just as I feel impelled to do at the time." 'Merry-Go-Round' shows a group of military and civilian figures 'caught on the vicious circle of the roundabout.' What Gertler seems to be arguing in 'Merry-Go-Round,' is that the war had become a mechanised horror in which everyone was trapped. What society, (here represented by civilians and soldiers, both female and male), had initially perceived as an adventure, a thrilling ride, had suddenly become a ride from which it could not get off. The 'modern war' experience, like that of the modern metropolitan 'street' experience, promised both adventure and danger.

Gertler's argument here seems to be that the increasing psychological cost of this adventure was becoming just too much for people to cope with. Perhaps Gertler was saying that society as a whole now realised the danger, but did not seem to know how to react. There is no one to appeal to for help, no one is listening. Gertler appears to use the merry-go-round as a metaphor for life itself and locates the psychological tensions that then existed as similar to that of the fear produced by a fairground ride. All that the riders on this metaphorical merry-go-round can do is observe what is happening, on realising that there is no escape all they can do is scream, screams that seem frozen in time and space, silent screams that the viewer can only imagine. It is as if the painting captures the moment when realisation suddenly sets in and the horror is so great that life itself becomes surreal. The riders have no control over their lives, which is being influenced by forces beyond their control. They are effectively trapped.

Walter Benjamin coined the phrase 'The Age of Mechanical Reproduction' in 1936, this picture seems to emphasise this idea of 'mechanical reproduction,' technology creating a continuous linear experience that is unstoppable. The 'modern age' was all about the speeding up of time and space, perhaps the merry-go-round provided for Gertler a relationship to the modern world, after all 'fairground rides had become extremely popular forms of entertainment in the early twentieth century' (Walton, 848). The pace of life and life itself, with all of its ups and downs, was such that it was in a way best represented by this familiar, fast, thrilling whilst at the same time, unstoppable ride. There is clearly an emphasis on society generally and the nature and character of the 'society' in which Gertler was then living, it is his view of the 'experience' of life at that time. Whilst other war artists have concentrated on more militaristic imagery such as battlefield paintings, it is possible that Gertler who had not experienced the fighting personally, was able to distance himself and retain a more objective less nationalistically motivated view. In this way Gertler seems to have be able to explore what his friend D.H. Lawrence called the 'dark instinctive forces in man' (Joll, 320).

The ride itself is shaped like a shell with what appears to be explosions in the background. Although the picture is far from symetrical, there is an impression of order, all of the horses in perfect alignment with each other. The people themselves like the wooden horses sit in orderly groups, people have effectively become 'automaton's keeping pace with the war' (Joll, 143). This perhaps reflects the industrialisation of society at this time, the 'Taylorisation,' of life itself, a life experience that has been given 'rhythm and form' a life that is in some way being managed (O'Shea, 15). When one views the piece, the initial impact is that of the people enjoying a fairground ride. This may have been a deliberate attempt by Gertler to encourage the viewer to explore the deeper meanings, as a closer look reveals the surreal almost nightmarish image of fear. Although too late for the First World War, at some point in time the picture would have been displayed and just maybe it was disturbing enough to get people to question war and the policies of their politicians. Such questioning of society has been one of the keynotes of modern art in which 'ideas are considered of greater importance than the finished product.' In 'Merry-Go-Round,' Gertler manages to purvey the horror of the experience of war not just for the front line troops and men, but for society itself. 'Merry-Go-Round' is considered by many art critics as 'the most important British painting' to emerge during the First World War.' The painting is now exhibited in the London's Tate Gallery.