CONFORMISM VERSUS NON-CONFORMISM AS A QUEST FOR THE GENUINE IN ART IN GEORGE BOWERING’S “THE HAYFIELD”

Judit NAGY

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2017.1.19

Authors

Judit NAGY Budapest-based Károli Gáspár University. Contact address: < nagy.judit@kre.hu>.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2017.1.19

Keywords:

conformism, non-conformism, genuineness in art, painting and literature, literary criticism.

Abstract

Conformism versus non-conformism as a quest for the genuine in art in George Bowering’s “The Hayfield”. Gordon Featherall, the art historian protagonist of Canadian writer George Bowering’s short story, “The Hayfield” aspires to become a genuine painter through his knowledge of art. Contemplating literary and pictorial aesthetics of the twentieth century and having studied the oeuvre of famous literary figures and painters, he makes an attempt at painting his subject, the hayfield. Will he succeed in his endeavors to achieve something genuine? Building on a detailed analysis of the protagonist’s painting-, and literature-related remarks, the paper aims at exploring the connection between conformism/ non-conformism in art and genuine artwork.

REZUMAT. Conformism versus non-conformism, mijloc de căutare a autenticului în artă, în “The Hayfield” de George Bowering. Gordon Featherall, istoricul de artă protagonistul al povestirii “The Hayfield” de George Bowering, năzuiește să devină un pictor autentic, prin cunoștințele sale din domeniul artei. Contemplând estetica literară și picturală a secolului al XX-lea și studiind, în prealabil, opera unor autori și pictori celebri, acesta încearcă să picteze subiectul ales, o fâneață. Va reuși el în demersul de a realiza ceva autentic? Bazându-se pe o analiză detaliată a picturii protagonistului, dar și pe aspecte ce țin de analiză literară, lucrarea își propune să exploreze conexiunea dintre conformism și non-conformism în arta autentică.

Cuvinte cheie: conformism, non-conformism, autenticitate în artă, pictură și literature, critică literară.

Author Biography

Judit NAGY, Budapest-based Károli Gáspár University. Contact address: < nagy.judit@kre.hu>.

Judit Nagy is an Associate Professor at the Department of English Linguistics of the Budapest-based Károli Gáspár University of the Hungarian Reformed Church, where she teaches courses in North American Studies and applied linguistics. She graduated from the Modern American Literature PhD Program of Eötvös Loránd University in 2009; her dissertation focused on weather images in Canadian short prose. Her current fields of research include East Asian Canadians, cultural metaphors, and teaching material development in Canadian Studies and applied linguistics. In 2012, the Central European Association for Canadian Studies awarded her with the CEACS Certificate of Merit for her contribution to Canadian Studies. As of 1 October 2016, she is also Vice-dean for International Affairs at the Faculty of Humanities. Contact address: < nagy.judit@kre.hu>.

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