Another "art" installation which most of you will probably know about was by Costa Rican artist Guillermo Vargas in which he had children go out and capture a stray dog which he tied up in his exhibition gallery so people could see it starve to death, they were told not to feed the dog. It was supposedly to highlight the hypocrisy of people by the way they reacted when such a thing was put infront of them in a gallery, even though they ignore it everyday on the streets. Unfortunately it happened in Nicaragua where there are no laws against animal cruelty and so he was not doing anything illegal, however he was then chosen to represent his country in the "Bienal Centroamerica Honduras 2008", I can't seem to find anything telling me if he did or not but here's hoping not.
Hi Carey,
ReplyDeletea meat-related photo-story just won a World Press Photo third prize. Don't think you're ever gonna eat meet again if you take a look at it... http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=1747&Itemid=257&type=&selectedIndex=6&bandwidth=high
Hi Carey, Blimey those images Dasha linked to are pretty strong stuff. I'm wondering what you make of them - especially their aestheticisation?
ReplyDeleteJ
I agree, they're powerful images though they depict the abattoir in such a bad light which I think is obviously an easy thing to do, like the photo with the dead pig in the background, and the fear that I see in the pigs eyes that's in the foreground is awful. This is what I don't want to show an abattoir as, I want to be as neutral as possible so that I can make the best decision for myself. If I was to go by those photos I'd stay vegetarian.
ReplyDeleteHey, It's Sophi from 4th year PEM! I think you are rather brave going into this topic as I have read up on a lot of this kind of activiy before (more out of personal interest rather that to do with my work)and I find it really tough to deal with. I decided against watching the video on your most recent post as I think the description was enough for me (I am in a fragile mind frame today and I don't think it would do me any favours!). It will be interesting to see what kind of work you develop out of this subject.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of work about the dog being tied up is a tricky one. I completely understand what the artist is talking about as it IS something that so many people ignore on the streets and yet it will be the same people that create the uproar when they see it placed in front of them in a gallery space. This does not mean I agree with the piece at all, in fact i think it is disgusting. Although, yes, people ignore these animals, it does not mean that EVERYONE ignores them and also as the dog roams free he has the opportunity to scavenge; in this case the artist isn't giving the animal the same chance. It made me feel a little sick to read about it.
I also had mixed feelings about the images Dasha posted to you. I find the images quite pleasing in their aesthetic except I don't much like the subject matter. The ones where the animals have already been killed I find less disturbing as we are faced with meat (albeit not in its original form) on a daily basis; but the ones where the animals are looking right at you, and as you said you can see the fear in their eyes, made me feel horrible inside. Here is a stupid comparison, but it's like when you are watching avatar/fern gully and it makes you hate the human race, that's how these images made me feel.
Anyway, ramble over. Good luck and stay strong!