Images from fall semester:
The major breakthrough I experienced at the end of last semester was my realization that I had been using animals to represent myself. In "Still In Life," I had been projecting myself into stiff domestic landscapes in which I was forced to coexist with humanness and impermanence. Asking myself why I had made this animal-human relation, I found several great resources.
The most informative book I found was "The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation" that finally opened my mind to the realization of man's drive to domesticate nature AND anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, material states, and abstract concepts. I was first introduced (as a child) to anthropomorphism through Disney's animations that used and continues to use animals (anthropomorphically) as totemic-devices. As the viewer, I associated myself with the animal's imagined capacities and values. Disney also used these animal totemic-devices to heal man's (or my) separation from wild nature (particularly in western culture). I had been feeding off this established relationship that had been subconsciously ingrained in my head since I was a child.
It all makes sense now, right?
Tom simply smiled at me as I read him this quote:
"If our only access to animals in the past is through documents written by humans, then we are never looking at the animals, only ever at the representation of the animals by Humans." -"Representing Animals, Erica Fudge, pg 6
From here I stated that I want to continue the work from last semester, but building off this recent research. I narrowed down that my work applies to Western Culture, that it originates in childhood (particularly mine) and that it is an exploration of innocence through my anthropomorphic relationship with animals.
Tom suggested that pop culture, neo spiritualism, and animal effigies are all subjects I need to continue to research and consider including in my work. He told me to focus on determining how my work is supposed to function (a commentary, political statement, narrative, etc) and how the creation of images will be driven (aesthetically, intelligently, etc). I have a lot to think about and even more to experiment and RESEARCH!
Several questions I posed during the meeting included: How does Western Culture (based on the above explanation of anthropomorphism) relate to dead animals? Does the anthropomorphic behavior continue to take place? Do you think the above works are more aesthetically based (in terms of composition, subject matter) or intelligent? What are particular responses you are having to any image above?
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