Rhetorical Analysis: Work of Art

"The Rescue"
By Brian Kershisnik

1. Identify the Argument
The argument of this painting is that the small boy and his shovel are powerless to save the man from the beast.
2. Identify the Target Audience
I think the target audience is anyone that has felt powerless to stop anything in their own life whether it be a disease, a specific trial they are going through, or anything else causing them distress. I think that it can be applied also to anyone who is watching someone they love fight in vain against the things I mentioned as well.
3. How is the Argument Made
Ethos - I think the credibility of the artist to make this argument is inherent in the fact that he chose to make a painting concerning this subject at all. Art is an emotive medium for some and so one can assume that the artist has gone through what the small boy with the shovel is experiencing in the painting because he felt he had enough experience with what the boy is feeling to portray it visually.
Pathos - The appeal to emotion is obvious in the boy's pathetic, albeit heroic, attempt to save his father or friend or whoever from the beast that is devouring him. He would not risk his life with such a silly weapon if he did not care about the man being eaten very much. And so the audience can see themselves in the little boy and think of someone that they love enough that they would be willing to take on a monster with shovel to save them. They also can see in the dying man someone they have lost or are losing.
Logos - The logic in this painting is seen through the boys illogical use of a small shovel against a huge monster. The audience can deduce that such a tiny weapon will do very little damage against the beast. They also can conclude that because they boy is behaving so irrationally, he must care very much for the man being eaten.
4. Was is Effective? Why?
I think this is a somewhat effective argument mostly because a lot of people don't think a lot about art. I can see people looking at this painting and thinking it's kind of weird and gruesome, but those who really stop and think about what is happening in the painting have a better chance of seeing its real meaning. I think for those who take the time to think about the painting would clearly see and understand the argument that the artist is making and so it would be very effective because of the violent nature of the painting, the bright colors that almost alert the viewers to danger and the smallness of the boy and his shovel in comparison to the beast that is attacking his loved one. The action and immediacy of the danger that the half-eaten man is experiencing makes the argument all the more effective because we come in while the horrible scene is taking place and all the emotions are at their peak.