Object of Desire

（http://americanart.si.edu/pr/library/2010/rockman/rockman_checklist.pdf）

Artist: Alexis Rockman

Title: Object of Desire

Media: painting

Date: 1988

Denotation-

          A body of a small mammal is overwhelmed by a mass of green beetles. 

Connotation-

          It shows a visceral sense of natural consumption and an inexorable cycle of life and death. The yellow color indicates a sense of decay.

Big idea-

         Rockman's painting is mainly about the natural history. He presents a vision of nature. 

When I looked at this picture, I feel very sad because of the small mammal's death. However, the whole picture did not show too much sorrow. It indicated a natural principle of life cycle which make me feel so small in the natural world.