The work Tableau Vivant, created by Dorothea Tanning (1954), portrays an extraordinarily large dog holding a naked woman who seems to be unconscious or lifeless. Tanning making the dog so human-like gives the viewer an uneasy or unsettling feeling. The work of art gives this disturbing feeling because of the dog's height, gaze, and pose which align with human-like characteristics. The dog’s stance along with its stare shows a sense of possession or dominance, this modifies the boundary between animal and human, which puts humans in a place of submission to animals rather than humans having authority over animals. The dog seems to be depicted as the masculine figure and the woman is seen as someone in need of saving. The woman being illustrated as naked also tenders to this idea. The woman being painted naked gives the sense that she is powerless or vulnerable hence why the dog is controlling her stature. Tanning illustrates the human as vulnerable and the dog as the assertive figure rather than the other way around blurring out the cultural boundary. Tanning used distorted figures, dream-like scenes, and unnatural combinations in this surrealist piece along with hybridity which appears to be a recurring theme in posthuman feminist works.
In reply to Jasmine Peterson
Re: Dorothea Tanning, Tableau Vivant (1954)
I absolutely agree with your statement. I liked how you explained how the dog's stance shows its dominance over the woman and how you tied it to feminism. I had never thought of it that way and im glad I read your interpretation of Dorothea Tannings Tableau Vivant.
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