Christina Leary - Grotesque Art and Cannibalism

November 20th, 2017
Christina Leary - Grotesque Art and Cannibalism
This article was a good read and further helped to explain my confusion with grotesque art as I wrote about earlier in the semester. I had some confusion distinguishing between surrealism and  grotesque and figured out grotesque art falls under surrealism. What stood out as interesting to me was the roots of grotesque art. First, the word grotesque was coined during the Italian Renaissance,  which made sense to me with all of the cultural change occurring grotesque art seems to emphasize discomfort. However, the form was heightened with the first world war when these “horrors” became something real.

The most interesting piece in the article, to me, was Dali’s self-cannibalising creatures, mostly because cannibalism is a universal taboo. I think it is such an encompassing piece when it comes to describing the grotesque because the figure in the painting is clearly not human and almost cartoonish, this helps it aid in comic relief. It also seems as though everything behind them is destroyed, almost apocalyptic, so the figure is eating itself and possibly another.  The reason I find this painting so intriguing is because cannibalism for the purposes of survival can be argued as logical. However we are so naturally repulsed by it. It becomes surreal to think about what one would do in such a situation and it also becomes creepy or haunting because we are questioning ourselves on a very intense level which asks: if put in the most extreme of a situation what would you choose to do? I think grotesque art makes one think about human nature specifically, is it good or is it evil? I really enjoy the reflection that grotesque art calls for in me. But on the other side, just looking at it makes me uncomfortable.

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