Essay card

        A common theme in stories is Man vs. Nature, where the natural world is shown to be wild and chaotic and even sometimes violent. An example of this is the movie The Perfect Storm where people are fighting to survive in terrifying weather. People in stories are also often seen trying to tame nature or make it into something beautiful, and artists often will often try to channel the chaos of nature into works of art. This card depicts a similar theme, where a man seems to be trying to conduct a group of birds in a song, but he is simultaneously being swallowed by quicksand. This image shows that as much as human beings want to control and beautify nature, it will always be a battle since nature is inherently wild and untamable.

The first thing my eye is drawn to in this image is the birds. They are not depicted in any organized way, instead sitting randomly on the branches of a tree. Their beaks are open in song, and the music notes floating in the air show that they are singing, like a chorus of birds. Because of the song and because their heads are pointed up, they look cheerful. The man holding the baton up in the air seems to be conducting the song, and it looks like a harmonious scene overall. Thus, at first glance, a human figure seems to exist peacefully with nature and is actually able to create a thing of beauty out of the natural world.

However, when looking closer, it becomes obvious that the man is being consumed by quicksand which is already up to his chest. Suddenly, the scene doesn’t seem peaceful anymore, but actually dangerous. The man’s outstretched hands, which at first seemed joyful in conducting, now seem as if they are reaching up for help. The birds cannot help him, though, and they just continue to sing on happily without even noticing the dangerous situation beneath them. This reinforces the idea that humans and nature do not co-exist beautifully and that human cannot really control nature even if they think they can.

There are a few other details in this image that add to the overall unsettling feeling I get when examining the scene closer. First, the sky looks blue and the weather seems nice, but the dark, twisted tree has no leaves on it; therefore, the tree must either be dead or it must be winter in the desert, not exactly a calm or happy setting. Second, there is a tiny spider that has woven an artistic web, but his string is hanging down toward the man’s hand  almost in irony — since that is not a rope that is strong enough to save him from the quicksand. Lastly, we do not see the man’s face but also don’t see any words or notes coming out of his mouth or anyone else around, so it seems like there is no way that he can be rescued. As such, this scene tricks the human viewer into thinking that man can do something fantastic like conduct a chorus of wild birds into a song, but the quicksand reminds us that nature will never be able to be controlled.

Overall, this card makes me think about how human beings are often overconfident about their abilities to conquer and control nature. People sometimes think they can rescue a stray raccoon or tame a wild tiger, but those stories never end well. Additionally, nature does not need to be controlled and can make art without the intervention of humans, as shown by the birds singing a melody and the spider weaving a web. I do wonder, though, if the man realizes that the quicksand is swallowing him.  Perhaps he is too busy creating his art that he doesn’t even notice. This image is a reminder that humans should seek to coexist with nature rather than overpower it, but you should always be on the lookout because you never know when you will be caught in a terrifying storm.