Monstrous Discourse & the Cultural Moment Essay

Monstrous Discourse & the Cultural Moment - Essay Example These included: Sleeping may cause humans to lack better judgement and reasoning. As a result, the lack of both of these attributes could create monsters through our imagination. This was clearly seen in his piece where the artist was surrounded by monster like creatures such as owls, bats and cats while he was sleeping. It is without doubt that each of those animals that were portrayed by Goya had their own meaning. For example; owls are thought to be mystical creatures that can be used in witchcraft. To the Spanish speaking people, owls are termed as â€Å"Lechusa† and to them; these winged birds are related to dark tales and evil spirits. Bats on the other hand are creatures of the night since they mostly appear while people are asleep. Another literal meaning of the piece was that the lack of reasoning while we sleep makes human beings come up with illusions of what the world is. As a result, these illusions could be in the form of night mares. Again, the creatures could b e termed as nightmares to the artist who was sleeping. Goya made an etching which stated that, â€Å"Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the source of her wonders† (Gamwell 78). This statement could have meant that art is a combination of reason and imagination. However, both of these attributes should have their limitations else it would turn out to be insanity. According to Goya, majority of the things that were committed by mankind and they lacked reason were actually based on the concept "sleep of reason". The Romantic Era (Romanticism period) was a period that occurred during the 18th century and it was filled with enlightenment. It was also known as the age on intellect where art was projected with a twist of emotions; that is, majority of the artistic portraits were not only a representation of what existed, but they also incorporated the aspect of feelings and emotions from the artist to the audience. During this period, there were a number of moments that took place; however, the most significant cultural moment that took place was in 1886; specifically on the 28th October 1886 while the statue of Liberty was being unveiled. The statue has a long history behind it. Before the statue was unveiled, America was at war with Britain starting 1775. This war was referred to as the American War of Independence (American Revolutionary War). The major cause of the war was that America was rejecting the colonial rule of the British. They wanted to be an independent nation. The war lasted for a period of six (6) years. And during that duration, there were thousands of casualties as a result of the fighting. In 1778, America was down with trade and they had no option but to look for allies such as France. As a sign of their support, they also declared war on Britain. In 1783, there were peace talks in Paris, France which led to the end of the American Revolutionary War. This was th e period when the statue of Liberty was given to America by France as a sign of support (endeavour) after the American Revolutionary war. The design of the statue was set up on a pedestal that had already been built on an Island that was located in New York. However, the island was later re-named Liberty Island with regard to the statue and its significance. The unveiling of the statue of Lib