哈德逊河画派与美国自我意识的崛起

The Hudson River School and the Rising of American Self-Identity

国内学者对美国文化研究的视角主要集中在政治经济领域,鲜有从艺术活动的角度考察美国文化的意义。在某种层面上,艺术活动可以反映一个时期国家占主导地位的意识观念。从19世纪中期流行于美国的哈德逊河画派的风景画的剖析入手,可以洞察这一时期美国的主流意识观念。从中可以看出,美国在文化上的自我意识最早出现于19世纪中叶。在这个阶段,美国不仅加强了国家认同,而且意识到在文化上需要脱离欧洲的影响,形成独立的美国文化。

American culture is a hot issue in China recently. The perspectives of American culture by many scholars are limited in political and economic fields. Few of them think of it from the actions of arts. In certain levels, the actions of arts can represent the ever dominated ideas of a country. This paper begins with the landscape paintings of Hudson River School which was rather popular in the middle of 19th century in America, then scrutinizes the dominated ideas hidden in it, and concludes that the earliest self - consciousness of America appeared in the middle of 19th century. In this period, America not only developed its self - identity, but also realized the importance of independent from Europe in culture.