2/15/13: The Spectacle of Nature
Large
Zoological Garden, August Macke
This painting seems to mark the
beginning of an era, as well as the end of another. The piece displays what would be assumed to
be one of the zoos to be available to the public, marking the beginning of the
practice. In the work, people are
viewing the caged animals in somber silence, which is one of the key things to
note about the piece. My displaying
humans and animals in such a manner, Macke is saying that human experience as a
whole has been reduced to machine-like viewing, and that we have become
contained in nature. Notice how most of
the faces aren’t even painted onto the people, reinforcing that sense of almost
not having a unique identity. On the
other hand, the animals, though they are caged, are still free to do as they
please, and in that way, are more free and civilized than we are. The work as a whole shows a certain element
of worship of nature in its theme, and a possible derailment of the then new
commodity of zoos. By showing humans in
such a subdued state and animals in such an exalted one, the artist may be even
be suggesting that we are the ones being viewed.
A little bit about America’s first zoo:
“Are zoos good or bad for Animals?”
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