Contexts
Nighthawk's analysis
Edward Hopper is an American artist known for his avant-garde 20th century genre painting. Consisting mostly of ordinary urban scenes, with only two or three people at most, and with little distraction, he captures the isolation of urban life that is other forms of modern art. Nighthawk this work depicts the brightly lit Windows of a small downtown restaurant or cafe, spilling its pale blue light onto the street, casting shadows on the sidewalk while barely threatening the influx of darkness. Anything can happen in the dark. Psychologically, these people are individual people, put together as a group, but also locked within themselves, the result of their own fears and fantasies. This is a photograph of city life for a short period of time, dominated by unnatural silences and abnormal silences, suggesting feelings of hearing and sight.
Hope's paintings, in the use of color, line are very restrained, giving people a cold, quiet feeling, but in this atmosphere, the viewer's imagination is inspired. The boredom and loneliness of modern city life are the themes that Hope has always used. This painting method is also what I am exploring and learning. The expression of this picture can help me express myself and make the audience reflect deeply.
Theoretical analysis of human and animal identity research
In the modern era, human-animal interactions undergo fast and profound changes which are more and more affected by globalization, urbanization, technical novations, as well as environmental pollution. On the other hand, animals' sentient nature and the welfare of animals have resulted in more conservation and advocacy activities and in the spread of the adoption of ethical and sustainable practices involving humans and animals. Consequently, not only is animal husbandry intensifying, human settlement has expanded into wildlife habitats, and animals have been commodified in popular culture and mass media, but also new challenges and conflicts in human-animal relationships have emerged (Wolch & Emel, 1998). Within this setting, the cultural facets involved in the man-animal connection and its influence on identity are crucial and prevailing. This examination in an array of contemporary spaces, from urban pet-keeping or ranching to wildlife conservation, aims to reveal different and sometimes inconsistent interactions between humans and animals in these shared domains and their adaptation to their mutual identity.
This study is based on different theoretical perspectives and frameworks that analyze the role of human-animal cultural engagements in the process of identity development. One important strategy is "multispecies ethnography," which intends to shift decision-making power to non-humans and acknowledge their agency, subjectivity, and lived experiences in forming society and culture (Kirksey & Helmreich, 2010). By considering animals as active vectors of meaning and value generation instead of mere tools or representative objects, multispecies ethnography unearths another dimension in which human-animal relations have complex and interactive continuity. Another vital theoretical component is that of “intersectionality,” which shows the ways in which various kinds of social diversity and oppression, for instance, gender, race, class, and species, are connected and shape one another in complex and specific interconnectedness manner (Taylor & Twine, 2014). Through the investigation of the intersecting spheres of humans and animals, this research can uncover the ways in which power relations, hierarchies, and contestations are enacted and portrayed in the cultural exchanges between humans and animals. Secondly, the work is built on the theories relating to "embodiment" and "affect"; it illustrates the sensory, emotional, and embodied aspects of interactions with animals that become the elements of individual and collective subjectivities (Maurstad et al., 2013). This research can show how humans and animals exchange the world and themselves deeply and completely by analyzing, recognizing, and valuing human-animal encounters involving perception, embodiment, and emotion.
Analysis and application of surrealist works
Rene Magritte (November 21, 1898 - August 15, 1967) is recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, known for his unique artistic style and works that challenge conventional ideas.
Created in 1966, this oil painting is one of the representatives of surrealist art, and for many years has triggered people's deep thinking about the boundary between fantasy and reality.
The man's head in the picture is replaced by a huge green apple. This surreal expression technique creates a challenge to the audience's cognition of reality and illusion. Works of this kind give the audience a wonderful sense of uncertainty. It also invites reflection on our perception of the world and the relationship between reality and fiction.
In his creation, he pursues the integration of reality and fantasy, and presents surreal scenes through painting, breaking the expectations and conventional concepts of observers.
It also inspired me to think about the relationship between reality and illusion, and to explore identity and boundaries.
It is this work that expresses the painter's core idea of surrealism that makes his artistic style shocking.
Magritte's creative inspiration comes from the observation and philosophical thinking of daily life, but also draws on dreams and illusions to explore the artistic level through metaphor.
Surrealism emphasizes the importance of irrational elements such as dreams, hallucinations, and the unconscious mind. It can reveal the truth in the depths of the human mind and the possibility of transcends conventional reality. By exploring the realms of fantasy, fantasy and the unconscious, I can make the experience more real and essential. In my work, for example, the viewer can enter a dream world led by a human-animal hybrid and personally experience the relationship between humans and animals.