Animals' otherness states as an object of comparison

The human needs an "other" to bring herself/himself into existence as a "self" in her/his world. The being to which the "self" compares itself needs to have similar emotional and behavioral skills, as well. Thus, animals, the closest creatures to human beings in the nature, are positioned as an "other" to be encountered by the "self". This thesis study touches upon the states in which human beings, who have developed a self-consciousness by examining the nature and other creatures in the historical process, position animals against themselves, in the light of the thoughts of philosophers related to the issue and the work of artists. Used as a resource by human beings to define themselves; animals also have a strong effect in the world of artists. The qualities of animals that are used by human beings while defining themselves both socially and culturally are also used by artists in their expression language. Technological, scientific, artistic and philosophical transformations experienced not only change the animal perception of the "self", but also affect artists' world of imagery in every period. The pictures drawn for this thesis study aim to reveal the person's effort of positioning herself/himself according to animals, in other words to the "other" and to visualize the comparisons made by the "self" via an animal image. The thoughts of the philosophers related to the issue were associated with past and present events and pictures were created within the context of the thesis.