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This research article is to study paintings created by the author after 2018; a systematic analysis and review on these paintings is conducted. Most of these paintings render themes of “conformity,” “obedience to authority,” “irrational belief,” and “religion.” In these paintings, a disaster brought about by collective actions were depicted from a constrained and profound perspective. The calamity didn’t involve causality or destruction; yet, it is rampant the world as a troupe of mindless souls moves about in each and every known place.
“Bystander,” what the author calls herself, is a term that has both positive and negative meanings. The author wishes to stay on the sideline and watch how the game goes. It seems that throughout history, where there were crowds, there were calamities; collectivism has been playing a role in events from a genocide in the name of nationalism to the online bully cases that keeps occurring in today’s society. An individual’s will may seem ineffective, but when one could call the crowd to action, collectivism could be a much stronger power than we could ever imagine. When the crowd follows someone blindly, there must be certain consequences. The author watches the whole scenario from the perspective of a disinterested character and make judgements. The author means to neither succumb to nor dominate the conditions; she just wants to remain on the sideline.
Chapter one is to discuss the motivation and method of the research. In chapter two, an analysis on the origin and various examples of collectivism are rendered from the perspectives of research psychology and social psychology. This part also elaborates on the process of how people end up succumbing to and following authoritarian powers. Chapter three mentions some works that served as models for the author. Then, the author’s creations are interpreted in chapter 4. It focuses on the hidden meanings behind the author’s creations. The process of creation was described in detail, the materials, composition, and colors of the paintings were also analyzed. Chapter five concludes the whole research paper. The author also expresses the anticipations she has for herself and the world.
This research article is an analysis on how the author renders collectivism in her art works. With a good intention to fulfill his social responsibility as an artist, the author reveals and profiles the herd behaviors of human beings in daily life. Playing the role of a bystander, the author probed into the “concept” of human beings’ collective activity. The concept is interpreted and manifested as the images of Chinese zombies, silhouettes of crowds, and puppets. While the author uses different subjects in her paintings and applying different symbols to illustrate the same concept, the author hopes to present a holistic picture of the earthly world.
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