Archaeological Perspectives on Contemporary Oil Painting: Expressions of Cultural Identity in the Mediterranean Context

Abstract

This paper explores how contemporary oil painting articulates the identity of Mediterranean culture through visual narratives. Amidst the accelerating globalization process, the complexity of cultural identity has become increasingly evident, particularly in the historically and culturally diverse Mediterranean region. As an expressive visual art form, oil painting possesses the unique capability to carry and convey complex cultural identities through visual symbols, color composition, and image narrative. The core question of this study is: How do contemporary oil painting artists employ visual language to express the diverse identity of Mediterranean culture? How do these visual narratives represent Mediterranean culture through specific cultural symbols? Additionally, the paper discusses the transformation of Mediterranean cultural symbols in oil paintings under the backdrop of globalization and its impact on identity expression. The research first reviews contemporary identity theories and their application in artistic expression, focusing on theoretical frameworks such as social identity and cultural identity, and explores how these theories aid in understanding identity expression in artworks. Through a detailed literature review, the paper analyzes existing academic research on Mediterranean culture and its representation in artworks, focusing on how contemporary oil paintings reflect the cultural characteristics and multiple identities of the Mediterranean region. The theoretical framework employs semiotics and visual narrative theory to analyze the role of visual symbols in cultural expression, explaining how images construct complex cultural narratives and identities through symbols. In the methodology section, the study adopts a qualitative research approach using case analysis, selecting the works of several representative contemporary oil painting artists as research subjects. Through detailed analysis of the visual symbols, image composition, and color application in these oil paintings, the paper discusses how artists express the identity of Mediterranean culture through their unique artistic language. The case study reveals how artists utilize traditional Mediterranean cultural symbols such as the sun, the sea, and the olive tree in their oil paintings, while simultaneously demonstrating the diversity of individual and collective identities through abstract and figurative forms. By analyzing specific works, the thesis highlights that Mediterranean culture, as a historically rich and diverse cultural system, has become increasingly complex under the influence of globalization. These oil paintings not only carry the representation of cultural symbols but also reflect the tension between the artists' personal identities and the global flow of culture. Through this visual narrative, artists not only explore issues of cultural inheritance but also respond to the challenges of identity in the context of globalization using a unique visual language. In summary, this study provides a new perspective for understanding identity and cultural narrative in contemporary oil painting, particularly in the context of the Mediterranean culture's plural identity expression. Oil painting, through its rich visual symbols and narrative techniques, showcases the uniqueness and complexity of this cultural region. The findings of this thesis hold significant academic value for research on cultural expression and identity in contemporary art creation.