One of the things about humanity that is remarkable is that we, by and large, are unable to imagine totally new things. Any “new” thing is a combination of things we’ve seen previously put into new arrangements. For folks who never experienced SA or know of it, they are blissfully unaware of what is happening. I thought it was a funny exaggeration of an encounter with a spider. Not everyone is keenly aware of the darkness mankind makes and explicit call outs are important. Many of us are trying to be sensitive but without explicit citation to ensure equal understanding, you would have been mad at me for a painting that we never saw the same subject matter.
Nobody here seems like they’re in the mood for more of my takes on art, which doesn’t pain me, but I’ll try to be clearer about where I’ve been coming from since you made some interesting points.
Part of what motivated me here is that I see art as fundamentally “the study of choice”. I like the piece in question because it seems to be choosing to demonstrate the absurd cruelty of the situation (because cruelty is absurd, don’t you find?), and making absolutely no bones about it. It’s a six panel horror show that is poignant because of how little sense SA makes, and it is trenchant in its overall effect without resorting to humor, which would be cowardly (speaking from experience - I do that too often).
Perhaps what I’ve failed to articulate is that I’m irked that this very overt, brave, and thoughtful piece of art can be so clear and powerful a message, and yet my fellow humans are conditioned by (or perhaps utterly failed by) society to be so insensate that it does not immediately produce the intended understanding. I’m not frustrated with anyone in particular, I’m frustrated with the cruelly absurd world we live in.
One of the things about humanity that is remarkable is that we, by and large, are unable to imagine totally new things. Any “new” thing is a combination of things we’ve seen previously put into new arrangements. For folks who never experienced SA or know of it, they are blissfully unaware of what is happening. I thought it was a funny exaggeration of an encounter with a spider. Not everyone is keenly aware of the darkness mankind makes and explicit call outs are important. Many of us are trying to be sensitive but without explicit citation to ensure equal understanding, you would have been mad at me for a painting that we never saw the same subject matter.
Nobody here seems like they’re in the mood for more of my takes on art, which doesn’t pain me, but I’ll try to be clearer about where I’ve been coming from since you made some interesting points.
Part of what motivated me here is that I see art as fundamentally “the study of choice”. I like the piece in question because it seems to be choosing to demonstrate the absurd cruelty of the situation (because cruelty is absurd, don’t you find?), and making absolutely no bones about it. It’s a six panel horror show that is poignant because of how little sense SA makes, and it is trenchant in its overall effect without resorting to humor, which would be cowardly (speaking from experience - I do that too often).
Perhaps what I’ve failed to articulate is that I’m irked that this very overt, brave, and thoughtful piece of art can be so clear and powerful a message, and yet my fellow humans are conditioned by (or perhaps utterly failed by) society to be so insensate that it does not immediately produce the intended understanding. I’m not frustrated with anyone in particular, I’m frustrated with the cruelly absurd world we live in.