Study On The Tragic Form Of Sculpture Art

The word “tragedy” is originated from Dionysian hymn on Bacchanalia of ancient Greece.Nietzsche,a famous German philosopher,put forward the spirit of Apollo and Dionysus in his work The Birth of Tragedy,where Apollo and DIonysus respectively symbolize reason and instinctual impulses of humankind.It can therefore be drawn that Apollo spirit is characterized by moderation,whilst that of Dionysus is by excess.When the two forms of state,which are against each other as well as relates to each other,meet and collide,the consciousness of tragedy ensues.The “tragedy” in this thesis refers not only to the tragic events in life,but also to the “tragic consciousness” in aesthetics.It involves human beings' desire to survive when confronted with disasters,disruptions,pressure and contradictions,the final burst of tenacious resistance and the great exertion of their self-protection ability,in short,the spirit of strong resistance and resolute action.Theory of tragedy holds that tragic consciousness is human beings' natural response to suffering,miseries and external stress and their outstanding personalities with strong resistance against dissatisfying reality.In this case,one makes decisions according to his or her own will.No matter how the fate plays tricks,he or she can fight against it tirelessly,reflecting the spirit of tragedy.Based on psychological analysis,this thesis explores the tragic consciousness in sculpture in a systematic way.With a large amount of information from previous studies,this thesis aims to explain the causes,psychological changes and influence of tragic consciousness,in a bid to cope with some puzzles and differences in art.This thesis attempts to analyze the expression of emotions in sculpture of three phases of art history,including classical,modern and contemporary art,discuss the tragic consciousness behind them and elaborate the significance of the writer's graduation project.Different phases of art history have all witnessed works of art with strong “tragic consciousness”.This thesis is composed of three chapters.The first chapter explains the origin of “tragedy” and the tenacious vitality when one encounters pressure,suffering or disaster as well as the resistance against himself or herself and the fate,in an effort to ultimately explore why tragedy causes artisticbeauty.In the second chapter,examples of works with prominent tragic consciousness of classical,modern and contemporary art phases will be taken to reveal the huge power hidden inside.The third chapter elaborates the writer's graduation sculpture named “Love for Father”,including the origin of the selected topic,the sculpturing process and its tragic consciousness.