In the context of The Slave Ship, explain the Ethical dilemma of the Reception and criticism.
As demonstrated by the general response to the piece when exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the aestheticism of the landscape and marginalization of identifying details of the Zong incident could lead viewers to overlook its historical reference entirely. Many critics since have addressed this dilemma, discussing whether the aesthetic effects of The Slave Ship interfere with the subject matter or appropriately augments it. Those who believe the piece's style reinforces its message argue that the sublime features of the overpowering ocean and oncoming typhoon comment upon the horrors of the slave trade. According to this view, the configuration of the figures in the foreground forces the viewer to face the drowning slaves. As the art critic and professor George Landow explains, "the very closeness of the dying slaves to the spectator [incites the] recognition that the nature which will justly punish the ship is the same nature that is already unjustly devouring the ship's innocent." The atmospheric effects can also be interpreted as heightening the premonition of the slave ship's demise, and thus the end of slave trading entirely.On the other hand, some critics argue that the aesthetic aspects of the scene dominate the viewer's attention, and the work appropriates the tragic event for artistic pleasure. One critic, Tobias Döring, explains "the terrors of the [slave] trade have become transfigured as aesthetic objects produced for the delegation of spectators [and] establishing covert complicity between terror and the connoisseur." Another critic, Sarah Fulford concurs with this position, claiming the dying slaves are completely disregarded in order to "aestheticize the horror of slavery in a moment of sublimity." She goes even further in her argument, stating that the very nature of commercializing art that depicts slave victims aligns with the actual act of trading slaves. From this perspective, the aestheticization of the scene is synonymous with profiting off of slavery.
slave ship Tobias Döring George Landow aestheticism Zong sublime typhoon Metropolitan Museum of Art