CROSS-LEVEL LECTURE 2 - WHY DO ARTISTS LOOK AT ANIMALS

Lynne Fanthome – Cross Level Lecture 2 -  Why do artists look at animals?

Fanthome's second lecture questioned the use of animals in artistic practice and the ethics related to this use of animals. She also discussed our connection to animals and the values we attach to animals as pets or as vermin which ultimately defines the power we give ourselves by attaching these labels and values on to animals.

Religious ideals of animals and their significance to varied religions and cultures was interesting to reflect on. Animals are seen as religious, devotional figures however simultaneously used as sacrificial ‘objects'. The lamb in Christianity is seen a symbol of redemption, however to attain to this forgiveness, the lamb must be killed. 

Humans may appear to be superior to the lamb in this narrative but ultimately, it’s the lamb whom is the creature of value, the only being God perceives as worthy. It’s also interesting to think about ‘Lamb of God’ as a description of Jesus. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  - John 1:29. Again Jesus is not defined as human, represented by a pure animal yet superior than any being.

Questions arise here on how religion works to counter-act the traditional hierarchy of the human as a superior creature (God is also non-human and omnipresent surpassing any entity in the hierarchy). In comparison to other cultures historical and contemporary – events such as Dog fighting, Spanish Bull Fighting and American Rodeo allow us to return to the top of the hierarchy with this exploitation of animals for sports.

Hollywood also knowingly exploits the values we hold to animals to affect us emotionally to generate more revenue for themselves. The family genre tends to use the tenderness we endow on pets as a plotline for a film. – e.g. Marley and Me.  – Damien Hirst; Animals as figures of fear, or as visual tools to represent philosophical theory.

It’s evident we as humans value animals – domestic pets, we give them names, they become a part of the family. Do we name animals because of consumer culture anthropomorphising animals in children’s novella?  Do we see animals, or do we see ourselves?



- HUMAN ANIMAL STUDIES

The animal gaze- ‘the gaze’ – objectifies, turns beings into objects. The voyeur holds a position of cultural power. Further reading- Feminist and Film Theory.
Thinking critically about the desire for a connection with animals. On what terms is that connection held – humans hold the position of power.

- Can there be a Human/Animal bond that is equal? – A reciprocal relationship
Donna Haraway – Companion species. Ideas of connectedness of the human and animal species. “the joint lives of dogs and people bound in significant otherness”
- ANGELA BARTRAM
- JO LONGHURST – Relationships of power, question of the bond. Separation. Hierarchies. Humans distance themselves from the animal species. Humans have hair, dogs have fur.
- GILLES DELEUZE – Becoming Animal: Francis Bacon- The logic of sensation. Philosophy of the human self and Art. (Francis Bacon 1953 three studies of a HUMAN head) Representations of the human animal in the same body.
- DESCARTES – Animals as machines. // Link to Donna Haraway – The cyborg manifesto?
- KATE MCGURE- Contained specimen, evocative, powerful. Monstrous. ‘beauty can be about a problem it can be something that repels you’
- MAURIZIO CATTELAN – Animals as metaphors. Tackling issues to do with animals and ethics.
- Why won't artists leave animals alone? – Dylan Kerr, www.artspace.com

- PIERRE HUYGHES – ON ETHICS – The Conversation. – “How is it that the art world has become a menagerie, at the same time as a consensus has emerged as to the questionable ethics of animals in other artist and entertainment contexts?” 

- SNAESBJORN/WILSON - Archives and Taxidermy – Exploring museum archives. Boundaries between alive and dead. A survey of British taxidermic polar bears. Colonial mentality of going somewhere and taking a part of nature to keep.

- Social Implications/ taboos around animals we keep in our space and animals we keep out of our spaces. Why