The work very obliquely decenters the human by having a grotesquely oversized lapdog as its central figure. The dog has a few eerie characteristics relating to its human-ness: its height, large and contemplative eyes, a bipedal pose. The thing that most highlights its odd humanity is its role as protagonist of the piece, taking the stereotyped masculine role of hero saving the damsel in distress. The dog and background are both rendered with splotchy strokes of muted blue and orange, which contrast with the pale pink of the feminine figure. It gives it a feeling like the feminine figure is the only grounded factor of the painting, the only "real" thing present, but this is counteracted by the dog's persistent stare out at the viewer, making it real, making it a "Living Picture." The blurred boundaries between reality and imagination take center stage in the surrealist work, but also the boundaries of gender roles, even human roles, are challenged. The dog is a hybrid of animal physiology and human intellect, size, and importance, while the human figure is drained of life and relevance, demoted to a role as an ornament. But despite all this, that dog is pretty cute, lending more to the comedic surrealism to the piece.
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I agree that the dog is made eerie by its human characteristics. It would be a cute dog by itself but it becomes unnatural when its inferred intelligence is shown in its stare. I also agree that the whole painting has a sort of unreal quality that adds to the whole eerie feeling created by the dog.
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I made a lot of similar observations when looking at this art piece, but I didn't even think about the amplified contrast between the human figure and the rest of the painting being related to the color scheme. I definitely agree about the roles being reversed in the painting, especially the idea of the dog being presented as a stereotypical male hero through its stance and gaze.
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Embracing hybridity seems to be an overlapping theme in post human feminist works. When you say the work blurred the boundaries between reality and imagination my mind instantly thinks of surrealist works such as Frida Kahlo.
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Some of your observations aligned with mine, I think it was interesting how you noted the colors in the painting relating to your response.
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I agree that the dog is super eerie. I also think that the artist wanted to test the observers to see if they would still find the dog cute if she drew him in this position and subversion. The pouty face with large eyes and the soft-looking fur are meant to make the dog look cute, yet the added intelligence, human-size and power are meant to challenge that cuteness. I have to say that I do not find the dog cute like this at all, I find him extremely creepy and uncomfortable, yet I would find such dog very cute if it was a regular small dog. I think this reaction points out the fact that the reason why we find dogs and other similar animals cute is because of their lack of intelligence, self-awareness, submissiveness to us and relative harmlessness. If dogs possessed human qualities, I doubt we would find them cute. There is a reason why many people fear apes.
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