Visual interpretations on dark humor

This thesis investigates the existence and determining factors of dark humor in the art of painting. Historical works were analyzed to explain the expression techniques of the black humor in painting and guided personal artworks. The theories of laughter and its connection to humor, particularly dark humor revisited to demonstrate how black humor differs from humor in visual arts. In the context of the relationship between black humor and laughter, due to its effects of social events, changing cultural codes and power on the phenomenon of laughter in the historical process, how black humor is affected by all these in visual arts and vice versa. The philosophical roots of black humor are also discovered in this thesis. It is explained how it meets the philosophies of existentialism, romanticism in visual art practice as a philosophical point of view rather than just an artistic expression method. Especially in the context of Mihail Bahtin's carnivalesque worldview, its relationship with freedom of expression and its development are analyzed. The author revealed the historical traces of dark humor in visual arts and the connections to other art forms (literature, theater, and caricature). Answers about how the methods such as; parody, pastiche, irony, grotesque, allegory, and satire serve visual expression, guide the personal creative practice of narrative painting and visual black humor in terms of both, form and content. Historical analysis revealed that dark humor is rooted in the rituals of pagan cultures as a tool for social change endorsing freedom of expression for everyone equally. Consequently, dark humor has always been a subject of censorship. In today's climate of political correctness, while the power of laughter and satire is heavily regulated, new spaces for visual dark humor emerged. Printed and electronic sources, including artist, museum, and gallery websites, were utilized during this research. Keywords: Dark humor, Visual dark humor, Painting art, Carnivalesque, Freedom of expression