Animals in Art and Culture

Biocultural diversity and the concept of culture animals have been around since the time immemorial, however, they made inroads into scientific research and discourse relatively recently. In this article an attempt was made to refer to the term biocultural diversity, propose and tentatively define the term culture animals, present findings of the study on biocultural diversity of mobile pastoral communities of the Deccan Plateau region of India and discuss Poda Thurpu cattle breed as the culture animal of mobile pastoralist communities of Nagarkurnool district of the the Indian state of Telangana.

The presence of the image of animals in the graphic, plastic and artistic manifestations in general is so old that we could almost say that it is the fundamental motor of its origin and its own existence. Not even the evolution of the historical and social changes of modernity has changed almost nothing about it. The most visited and shared on the internet are still the images and videos of cats, which only confirms a mere evolution of the sacralization of the cat from ancient Egypt. Animals, whether as pets, a source of entertainment or a source of naturalistic fascination, continue to be the protagonists of the media presence as they had been of the bibliographic productions, from bestiary illustrated manuscripts to their printed evolution. The first image posted on Instagram corresponded to a dog confirming this statement. This photo of a young golden retriever was taken at a taco stand called "Tacos Chilakos", and the foot belongs to the girlfriend of a certain Systrom, according to an Instagram spokesperson. The name of the dog and its owner are unknown.

Photography and its derivatives have taken the reins of new media (audio) visual communication and we have lost awareness of the extent to which our fundamentally iconographic education makes us perceive photography as a window to reality that is easily recognizable and identifiable, although to recognize without problems what has been recorded by a camera needs a secular learning recognition of graphic conventions of drawing, painting, sculpture and all kinds of artifices of the image that involve analysis, recognition and observation in complicity with our perception under the dictatorship of the sense of sight.

Representing is not the same as reproducing, and although in many cases the analogy between the represented and the reproduced coincide, this is not always the case, and the confusion of both terms has often led to deceit or at least confusion and distortions allied with spoken language and written.

Bugün bakışımızı çevirdiğimiz her yerde hayvan imajına rastlamak mümkündür. Yoğun olarak yeniden üretimin başat öznesi haline gelen hayvanların bu kadar sık kullanılmasının sebebi, ilk bakışta herkesin dikkatini yakalamasıdır. Çünkü hayvan imajı, yaşamımızın ilk yıllarında ayırt etmeyi başarabildiğimiz ilk imajdır. Aynı zamanda bu imajlar tarih boyunca aşina olduğumuz, hayatımızı devam ettirme noktasında ortaklığımızın hiçbir zaman ayrı düşmediği arketipsel bir nitelik arz etmektedir.

İnsanların etkileşimde bulunduğu her nesnenin bir tarihi olduğu gibi, farkına vardığı canlıların da bir tarihi vardır. Günümüzde akademik çevrede giderek daha çok ilgi çekmeye başlayan bitkiler, hayvanlar gibi dünyanın gerçek özneleri üzerine düşünmek, bizleri ister istemez kendi bakış açımızı sorgulamaya götürecektir. Böyle bir sorgulamanın bir parçası olan bu çalışma öncelikle bakışın merkezi önemini kavramakta ve tarihsel konumu içinde algılarımızın nasıl değişebileceğini, hayvanları temele alarak izah etmeye çalışmaktadır. Farklı disiplinlerden birçok akademisyenin dikkatini çekecek bu çalışma, sinema alanından yola çıksa da sadece bu alanın meraklılarına değil dünyadaki yaşamını daha anlamlı kılmak isteyen herkese bir giriş sunmaktadır.

In recent years, an increasing number of contemporary artists have incorporated live animals into their work. Although this development has attracted a great deal of attention in the artworld and among animal rights activists, it has not been much discussed in the philosophy of art—which is quite remarkable, given the serious ethical and artistic questions that these artworks prompt. I focus on answering two such questions. First, is the use of animals in these artworks ethically objectionable? Or are such artworks instead morally permissible or even laudable? Second, what might be the distinctive value or good of incorporating animals into artworks in this way? In response to both questions, I argue that one distinctive value of some of the artworks I discuss is their ability to facilitate a relationship of moral concern and respect on the part of an audience towards the animals that are a part of the artwork. Insofar as artworks facilitate such relationships, they are not simply artistically important; they are also, to that extent, morally good.

Resumen: Se realiza un recorrido por la obra más universal de la literatura española, Don Quijote de la Mancha, de Miguel de Cervantes, analizando los artrópodos citados en ella y comentando el contexto histórico y cultural en el que fueron citados e incluidos en esta obra. Sin ser demasiado abundantes, Cervantes cita en esta obra grillos, moscas, mosquitos, gusanillos, poli-llas, piojos, pulgas, chinches, carcomas, agallas, hormigas y, por supuesto, abejas y sus derivados (colmenas, miel, cera, agui-jones), que aparecen en esta obra en diferentes situaciones y contextos. Se trasluce una influencia médico-paterna, habida cuenta de que son los insectos parásitos los más mencionados en esta obra y, por otra parte, reflejan la presencia e importan-cia que estos animales tenían en la población española del Siglo de Oro. Tras ello, utilizamos los elementos artropodianos hallados en esta obra como argumento objetivo de comparación con otro autor, contemporáneo de Cervantes, William Sha-kespeare, utilizando la riqueza y variedad de citas entomológicas halladas en uno y en otro autor como elemento de compara-ción entre la España filipina y la Inglaterra isabelina. On the arthropods of Don Quixote de la Mancha Abstract: An entomological tour is taken in the most universal work of Spanish Literature, Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cer-vantes, analyzing the arthropods mentioned therein and commenting on the historical and cultural context in which they were mentioned and included in this text. Without being too abundant, Cervantes mentions in the text crickets, which appear in the book in different situations and contexts. A medical-paternal influence can be inferred, taking into account the fact that the most numerous references are to parasitic insects and, on the other hand, this reflects the presence and importance that these animals had in the society of the Spanish Golden Century. After that, we use the arthropodian items found in this work as an objective argument for comparison with another author, contemporaneous with Cervantes, William Shakes-peare, using the richness and variety of entomological records found in each of these authors as elements of comparison between Philippine Spain and Elizabethan England.

Resumen: Si cada vez está más extendido y aceptado el hecho de que a determinadas especies animales, fundamentalmente los grandes primates, se les reconozca la posesión de cultura, ¿qué sucede entonces con el arte? ¿Cabría la posibilidad de que existiera un arte animal? Lejos de tratar responder a estas preguntas, en este artículo pretendo presentar y desarrollar una serie de cuestiones clave con el objetivo de señalar al menos parte del interés que podría tener un debate enfocado en discutir la posibilidad de un arte animal. Un debate que se beneficiaría de una participación conjunta tanto de las disciplinas científicas como de las humanísticas. Y en especial, de la historia del arte.

Abstract: If the fact that some animal species, basically great apes, have culture becomes more accepted every single day, what about art then? Would it be possible an animal art too? In this paper I will not attempt to answer these questions. Instead I will develop a series of key issues, with the aim of remarking some of the possibilities of a discussion about animal art. A discussion that will be better if enhanced with contributions, not only from scientific disciplines, but also from humanities. And specially, from art history.

Resumen: Se describen y comentan los artrópodos (imaginarios y más o menos reales) utilizados en la obra de Salvador Dalí. Se analizan sus antecedentes, sus orígenes, su intencionalidad y su significación. En base a las numerosas referencias entomológicas existentes en su/s autobiografía / biografías, especialmente durante su infancia, se analizan sus fobias entomológicas que, conse-cuentemente, aparecen reflejadas en su obra. Arañas, cangrejos, mariposas, abejas, mantis, insectos palo, saltamontes, neurópte-ros o escarabajos, y sobre todo moscas y hormigas, aparecen en muchas de sus obras, formando parte consustancial de ella y con diferente grado de realismo, frecuencia e intencionalidad. Arthropods in the work of Salvador Dalí Summary: A description and a review are presented of the arthropods (imaginary and more or less real) used in the work of Salva-dor Dalí. A discussion is included on their backgrounds, origins, intentionality and meaning. Based on the abundant entomological references in his autobiography / biographies, especially during his infancy, comments are made on his entomological phobias, which consequently are reflected in his work. Spiders, crabs, butterflies, bees, mantises, stick insects, grasshoppers, neuropterans or beetles, and flies and ants above all, appear in many of his works, forming an integral part of it, and with different degrees of realism , frequency and intentionality.

Progress of experimental science and the humanist revival of classical texts were two major factors in precipitating a turning point in the history of zoological literature and illustration by the late fifteenth century. Nevertheless, it will be underlined below that, while more that, while more objective ways of looking at animals were introduced, this did not necessarily entail a rejection of the allegorical tradition. There is a tendency in modern literature to overemphasize the predominance of descriptive and empirical elements in Renaissance zoological texts, based on the assumption that moralizations and religious allegory were passé. This study clarifies the relationship between innovative and traditional elements in the zoological literature of the sixteenth century.

Resumen: Aunque apenas sabemos casi nada de ellos, en comparación con otras civilizaciones como los babilonios, egipcios, persas, griegos y romanos, nos adentramos en el artropodiano mundo fenicio en base a los escasos elementos entomológicos que sobre ellos se han conservado, y buscaremos nuevos datos a través de las ancestrales referencias neolíticas-cananeas-sirio-palestinas que heredaron, y sobre todo a través de las referencias indirectas que, mucho mejor documentadas, nos han aportado de ellos los egipcios, hebreos, mesopotámicos, minoicos, persas, griegos y romanos. Tras un breve comentario introductorio sobre su origen, su historia, sus creencias y su estructura social y religiosa, nos ire-mos acercando a su escueto zoológico. Comentamos primero, de forma general, sus animales, y posteriormente sus artrópodos en particular, formando algunos artrópodos parte consustancial en sus creencias, con una enorme importancia simbólica, mágica y ritual. Hallamos en ellos reminiscencias de la mariposa, atávicamente asociada a la feminidad y a sus deidades femeninas, de la abeja, asociada a la fertilidad, y, en especial, del escarabajo sagrado egipcio, Kepri, que abandonando su carácter sagrado perma-nece fuertemente asociado a sus supersticiones y prácticas funerarias, apareciendo en multitud de ejemplos de su arquitectura, escultura, arte mobiliario y pintura. Intuimos y anotamos también algunos datos entomológicos sobre su escritura, sus escasos textos conservados y sus creen-cias y costumbres, en las que los artrópodos y sus derivados pudieron participar (rituales, ofrendas, objetos de adorno y funerarios, cerámica, sellos, amuletos, estelas, etc.), mencionando algunos elementos de su apicultura y su famosa cera púnica, así como los que hallamos en su numismática. Los fenicios contribuyeron a que alguno de estos entomológicos conocimientos, mitos y creencias, en particular la apicultura y el culto al escarabajo, se extendieran por el Mediterráneo y pasaran, en algunos casos, a Occidente, ya que a través del contacto comercial y bélico con los minoicos, libios, íberos, etruscos, sardos, sículos, mesopotámicos-persas y griegos acabarán llegando al Helenismo, y cuyo legado fascinará y parcialmente recogerá y hará suyo el mundo romano, que también hará suyas muchas de sus técnicas y conocimientos. Arthropods in Phoenician mythology, beliefs and art Abstract: Though almost nothing is known about them, compared to other civilizations like the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks or Romans, we enter the Phoenician arthropodian world on the basis of the few entomological elements related to them that have been preserved, and we will seek new information through the ancient Neolithic-Canaanite-Syrian-Palestinian references that they inherited, and mainly through indirect references to them, these much better documented, provided by Egyptians, Mesopota-mians, Greeks and Romans. After a brief introductory comment on their origin, their history, their beliefs and social and religious structure, we will approach their brief zoo. Firstly we will discuss their animals in general, and subsequently their arthropods, some of which were an integral part of their beliefs, with an enormous symbolic, magical and ritual importance. We found among them reminiscences of the butterfly, atavistically associated with femininity and their female deities, the bee, associated with fertility and, especially, the Egyp-tian sacred scarab, Kepri, which, after losing its sacred haracter, remained strongly associated with their superstitions and burial practices and appears in many examples of their architecture, sculpture, furniture and art. We note and also intuit some entomological data in their writing, in their few surviving texts, in their beliefs and in the customs in which arthropods and their derivatives could have intervened (rituals, offerings, ornaments/ funeral, pottery, seals, amulets, ste-lae, etc.), mentioning some elements of their beekeeping and the famous Punic wax, as well as those found in their coins. The Phoenicians contributed to spreading some of this entomological knowledge and some myths and beliefs, in particular beekeeping and the cult of the beetle, all over the Mediterranean and; in some cases those elements reached the West, and through their commercial and military contacts with the Minoans, Libyans, Iberians, Etruscans, Sardinians, Sicilians, Mesopotamian-Persians they eventually reached Hellenism, whose legacy would be appreciated and partially adopted by the Roman world, which would also appropriate a lot of their techniques and knowledge.

Resumen: Tras una breve introducción sobre los primeros asentamientos humanos durante el Neolítico, entraremos en las civili-zaciones mesopotámicas. Ya en ellas, comentamos primero, de forma general, los animales que aparecen en su mitología, creencias y manifestacio-nes prácticas y artísticas, y posteriormente nos centramos en los artrópodos en particular, siendo los mesopotámicos quienes por primera vez en la historia los dibujaron sobre cerámica y los que escribieron sus nombres en sus textos (multitud de órdenes y gru-pos citados son aún hoy día reconocibles), aportando las primeras listas taxonómicas y los primeros textos de entomología aplica-da. Estudiaremos los artrópodos que dibujaron y que aún permanecen en el cielo, los que plasmaron en sus creencias y en su mi-tología, muy frecuentemente representados en muy diversos objetos y sustratos, y nos detendremos en la importancia simbólica, ritual , aplicada y económica que tuvieron algunos insectos benéficos y otros más maléficos o destructores, que abundan entre sus dioses, deidades, manifestaciones artísticas y textos. También citamos algunos artrópodos vinculados a su medicina, con sus conocimientos sobre algunas dolencias de índole entomológica y con ciertos artrópodos ectoparásitos y el uso terapéutico de escarabajos cantáridos. Aportamos otros numerosos ejemplos sobre la " entomología mesopotámica " , citando información sobre otros artrópodos de los que los mesopotámicos nos dejaron constancia sobre sus conocimientos y creencias, y que plasmaron en sus manifestaciones artísticas, prácticas, comerciales, científicas y literarias. En todos estos elementos mesopotámicos hallamos antecedentes de conocimientos, mitos y creencias que, en algunos ca-sos, aún perduran en Occidente, ya que a través del contacto con los persas llegarán al Helenismo, y cuya herencia recogerá y hará suyo el mundo romano, y a través de Roma y la Biblia llegarán al cristianismo, quien recibirá posteriores y nuevas influencias mesopotámicas a través del Islam, ya entrado el Medioevo. Palabras clave: Artrópodos, entomología cultural, entomología aplicada, arte, Mesopotamia. Arthropods in the mythology, science and art of Mesopotamia Abstract: After a brief introduction on the first human settlements of the Neolithic period, we move on into Mesopotamian civilizations. We discuss, first, their animals in general, and subsequently their arthropods in particular; the Mesopotamians were the first to draw them on ceramics and write their names in their texts (many recorded orders and groups are still recognizable today), providing the first taxonomic lists and the first texts on applied entomology. We study the arthropods they drew in the sky, which still remain, those which shaped in their beliefs and mythology, very often represented on a variety of objects and substrates, and we dwell on some other arthropods of symbolic or ritual importance, other beneficial insects of economic / applied relevance and others with destructive powers, which abound in references among their myths, deities, artistic manifestations and texts. We also mention some arthropods associated with their medicine, showing some entomological knowledge on some ailments and certain ectoparasitic arthropods, as well as the therapeutic use of cantharid beetles. We provide numerous other examples of "Mesopotamian entomology", citing information on other arthropods of which the Mesopotamians left us evidence on their knowledge and beliefs and which populate their artistic manifestations and their scientific and literary texts. All this is background knowledge, myths and beliefs that, in some cases, still remain in the West, since through their contact with the Persians they reached Hellenism, and whose legacy would be received and endorsed by the Roman world, and that through Rome and the Bible would reach Christianity, which later wouldl receive new Mesopotamian influences through Islam in the Middle Ages.

Resumen: Con una breve introducción sobre los primeros asentamientos humanos durante el Neolítico, nos introduciremos en la fascinante civilización egipcia. Tras un comentario introductorio sobre su dilatada historia y su estructura social y religiosa, nos iremos acercando a su original y extenso zoológico. Comentaremos primero, de forma general, sus animales, y posteriormente sus artrópodos en particular. Los artrópodos formaron parte consustancial de las creencias de esta civilización, con una enorme importancia simbólica, mágica y ritual. Por ello aparecen en su mitología y sus deidades (principalmente su escarabajo sagrado Kepri y el escorpión asociado a Selket) y quedan reflejados abundantemente en su arquitectura, escultura, arte mobiliario y pintura. Anotamos también datos sobre sus creencias y costumbres en las que los artrópodos participaron (rituales, ofrendas, objetos de adorno/ funerarios, cerámica, sellos, amuletos, estelas, ostraka, etc.), siendo sin duda el Antiguo Egipto una de las civilizaciones más entomológicas. También comentamos los artrópodos utilizados en su escritura jeroglífica, y hacemos alguna referencia a los que se citan en algunos de sus textos sagrados, literarios y científicos, en los que se denota una incipiente Entomología Aplicada, principalmente en relación a la apicultura, a la salud frente a ciertos insectos, y a la agricultura contra ciertas plagas. Por último mencionamos ciertos elementos artropodianos de su zodiaco (escarabajo / cangrejo y escorpión). Parte de estos conocimientos, mitos y creencias se extendieron por el Mediterráneo y pasaron, en algunos casos, a Occidente, ya que a través del contacto comercial y bélico con los fenicios, minoicos, hititas, hicsos, asirios, persas y griegos, acabarán llegando al Helenismo, cuyo legado parcialmente recogerá el mundo romano, y a través de Roma llegará al Cristianismo, quien recibirá posteriores y nuevas influencias egipcias a través del Islam y más tarde con las conquistas napoleónicas. Finalizamos esta contribución con una breve reseña sobre los artrópodos en el vecino arte nubio. Palabras clave: Artrópodos, antiguo Egipto, entomología cultural, mitología, entomología aplicada, arte. Arthropods in the mythology, beliefs, science and art of ancient Egypt Abstract: With a brief introduction to the first human settlements during the Neolithic period, we will go into the fascinating Egyptian civilization. After a brief introductory comment on their long history and their social and religious structure, we will approach their original and large zoo. First we will discuss, in general, their animals and, subsequently, their arthropods, which were an integral part of their beliefs, with an enormous symbolic, magical and ritual importance. Arthropods appear in their mythology and pantheon (mainly their sacred beetle, Kepri, and the scorpion associated to Selket), and they left their mark on their architecture, sculpture, art furniture and painting. Data are also mentioned about the beliefs and customs in which arthropods took part (rituals, offerings, ornamental/ funerary objects, pottery, seals, amulets, stelae, ostraka, etc…), ancient Egypt being undoubtedly one of the most entomological civilizations. We also comment on arthropods used in their hieroglyphic writing, and make reference to those that are cited in some of their sacred, literary and scientific texts, in which an incipient Applied Entomology is denoted, mainly in connection with beekeeping, health tips against certain insects and agricultural tips against pests. Lastly, some arthropodian elements of their zodiac (beetle / crab and scorpion) are mentioned. Some of this knowledge, myths and beliefs spread across the Mediterranean and passed, in some cases, to the West, since through trade and military contacts with the Phoenicians, Minoans, Hittites, Hyksos, Assyrians, Greeks and Persians it would reach Hellenism. Their legacy would be partly absorbed by the Roman world, and through Rome it would come to Christianity, which would receive new Egyptian influences through Islam and later through the Napoleonic conquests. We finish this contribution with a brief comment about the arthropods of the neighbouring Nubian art.

Resumen: Al inicio se realizan unos breves comentarios introductorios sobre los artrópodos (fantásticos e imaginarios, o más o menos reales) que forman parte del ideario artropodiano de la Cristiandad, y de su significado e iconografía durante la Edad Media en particular, sea por haber sido heredados del mundo greco-romano, o por estar citados en los Textos Sagrados (tanto en el Antiguo Testamento como en el Nuevo Testamento), en ambos casos con abundantes referencias mesopotámicas e hindúes. Tras ello, damos paso a los artrópodos citados en el último libro revelado que constituye estos textos bíblicos: La Apocalipsis de san Juan, obra que sirvió de base a una de las series más bellamente ilustradas de la literatura medieval europea, los Beatos. En la obra de san Juan, la imagen ponzoñosa del temido escorpión es utilizada en varias ocasiones como método de amenaza y castigo a los impíos y pecadores, y siguiendo este texto, multitud de obras bellamente ilustradas fueron copiadas en los monasterios del norte de España, donde los monjes lo transcribieron, comentaron e ilustraron, desde el primero del que tenemos constancia, el Beato de Liébana (776), al último Beato medieval que se copió, el Beato de Morgan (1220), aportando su visión sobre la imagen de este quelicerado, dentro de la interpretación de los textos, y del ideario y la iconografía artropodiana imperante en el Medioevo europeo. La imagen medieval del escorpión dista muchas veces de la imagen que hoy todos tenemos. Por ello también en la iconografía artropodiana medieval, y en estos textos en particular, el escorpión adopta muchas formas, a veces fiel al texto joánico, o a veces más parecido a una lagartija que a un escorpión, y así quedó representado en la arquitectura, escultura y la pintura medievales, en los bestiarios y Libros Iluminados y también en los Beatos, aunque en ellos su obligada fidelidad a la descripción del texto de La Apocalipsis generó, al menos inicialmente, un obligado modelo a seguir, pese a lo cual su imagen sufre una progresiva evolución en la que cada copista añade sus propios conocimientos y personalidad a su obra. Por ello se comenta la progresión iconográfica de la imagen del escorpión en estos textos a lo largo de los siglos en los que fueron copiados, y anotamos un entomológico apunte a la hora de contribuir a ordenar cronológicamente estos códices manuscritos en función de la naturalidad en la imagen del escorpión representada en cada uno de ellos. Otras referencias artropodianas vinculadas a la miel, a la cera, al maná, a la seda o a la púrpura se citan en este libro y, consecuentemente, aparecen reseñados en estos bellos textos medievales. Sobre el propio texto del Apocalipsis de San Juan, Beato de Liébana realizó sus conocidos Comentarios, en los que dentro de esta misma línea artropodófoba, incide en el carácter mayoritariamente demoniaco y destructivo de los artrópodos, aportando nuevas citas y visiones terroríficas sobre ellos. Quizás sea en estos propios comentarios donde mayoritariamente vamos a encontrar una de las principales causas en la expansión y generalización de esta satanización y animadversión hacia los artrópodos que aún hallamos en Occidente. Arthropods in the Beatus codices Abstract: At the start some brief introductory comments are made on the arthropods (fantastic and imaginary, or more or less real) that are part of the arthropodian ideology of Christianity, and their meaning and iconography in the Middle Ages in particular, with their roots either in the Greco-Roman world or in the Scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament), in both cases with abundant Mesopotamian and Hindu references. After that, we move on to the arthropods mentioned in the last revealed book of the biblical texts, The Revelation (Apocalypse) of St. John, a text that was the basis for one of the most beautifully illustrated series of European medieval literature, the Beatus codices. In St. John's book, the image of the feared poisonous scorpion is used repeatedly as a method of threat and punishment for the ungodly and sinners, and following this text, many beautifully illustrated books were copied in the monasteries of northern Spain, where the monks transcribed, commented and illustrated this text, from the first one known, the Liébana Beatus (776), to the last copied medieval Beatus, the Morgan Beatus (1220), giving us their views on the image of this chelicerate, within the framework of the interpretation of texts and the arthropodian ideology and iconography prevailing in the European Middle Ages. The medieval image of the scorpion is often far from the image that we all now have. Thus also in the medieval arthropodian iconography, and particularly in these texts, the scorpion takes many forms, sometimes faithful to St. John 's text, sometimes more like a lizard than a scorpion, and that is how it was represented in medieval architecture, sculpture and painting, in bestiaries and Illuminated Books and also in the Beatus codices, but in the latter their forced allegiance to the description given in the Apocalypse generated, at least initially, an obligatory model, although, even so, its image undergoes a gradual evolution by which each copyist adds his own knowledge and personality to his work. This is why a discussion follows on the iconographic progression of the image of scorpion in these texts during the centuries in which they were copied, and comments are then made on the chronological order of these manuscripts concerning the degree of realism of the scorpions depicted in each one. Other arthropodian references linked to honey, wax, manna, silk or purple are quoted in this book and, consequently, are profiled in these handsome medieval texts. On the text of the Revelation of St. John, Beato de Liébana wrote his well-known Commentaries, in which, on the same ar-thropodophobic vein, mostly touches on the demonic and destructive character of arthropods, with some new quotes and terrifying visions about them. Perhaps it is in these own comments that we can find one of the main causes of the spread and generalization of this demonization and animosity toward arthropods that still prevail in the West.

Resumen: Se comenta la importancia que los artrópodos tuvieron en la historia de la ciudad Florencia y, consecuentemente, en la propia historia de la Europa medieval-renacentista. Se hace referencia a los artrópodos relacionados con la peste negra, con su importante comercio y su sistema bancario, y se comentan algunas aportaciones de Florencia a la ciencia y a la entomología en particular. Con todo este acervo entomológico, se anota y se comenta la frecuente presencia de artrópodos en su literatura y en sus manifestaciones artísticas, especialmente en su arquitectura, mosaicos, pavimentos, escultura y pintura, particularmente desde el Renacimiento, aunque remontándose a su fundación, en la época romana, y llegando hasta nuestros días. Palabras clave: Etno-entomología, arte entomológico, Italia, Florencia. Arthropods in the history and art of the city of Florence Abstract: The paper reviews the importance that arthropods had in the history of the city of Florence and, consequently, in the history of Europe during the Middle ages and the Renaissance. Reference is made to the arthropods connected with Black Pest, with its important trade and bank system, and to some contributions of Florence to science and in particular to entomology. Against the background of this entomological heritage, an overview is given of the frequent presence of arthropods in Florentine literature and art, especially in its architecture, mosaics, pavements, sculpture and painting, particularly since the Renaissance, although its ento-mological manifestations can be found from the foundation of the city, in the Roman period, and reaches the present time.

Resumen: Se realiza un comentario descriptivo de los artrópodos utilizados en la obra cinematográfica de Luis Buñuel. Se analizan ciertos antecedentes entomológicos de su infancia aragonesa, sus orígenes en su etapa de formación entomológica en Madrid, y tras su decisión de dedicarse al cine, su intencionalidad y su significación tras la influencia del surrealismo en su trayectoria cinematográfica. Tras algunas palabras sobre su biografía, nos adentramos en el mundo de Buñuel, en su particular zoológico, y con él, en su extensa entomología cinematográfica, en la que numerosas imágenes de arañas, escorpiones, can-grejos, mariposas, abejas, hormigas, moscas, mosquitos, cucarachas, saltamontes, neurópteros o escarabajos aparecen con frecuencia en sus películas, formando parte consustancial de ellas y en las que aparecen con diferente frecuencia, simbología e intencionalidad, casi siempre vinculados a los básicos impulsos del comportamiento humano de sus personajes. Se comenta el número y el tipo de artrópodos que aparecen en su filmografía, y también se anotan los abundantes elementos artropodia-nos que aparecen en los diálogos y en las bandas sonoras de sus películas. Por último, se pone de manifiesto la presunta in-fluencia artropodiana que la obra de Buñuel ha tenido en otros cineastas españoles posteriores. Arthropods in Luis Buñuel's films Abstract: A descriptive comment of the arthropods used in Luis Buñuel's films is given. An analysis is made of the entomological elements of his Aragonese childhood, his period of entomological education in Madrid and, after his decision to devote himself to the cinema, their purpose and meaning after the influence of surrealism on his film career. After some words about his biography, we enter the world of Buñuel, his own personal zoo, and with it we come to his extensive cinematic entomology, where numerous images of spiders,, neuropterans and beetles frequently appear, as an integral part of the films, and displayed with various frequency, symbolism and intentionality, almost always linked to the basic impulses of the human behaviour of the characters. The number and type of arthropods that appear in his films are mentioned, together with the abundance of entomological elements that occur in the dialogues and soundtracks of his films. Finally, we deal with the possible entomological influence that Buñuel's work may have had on other Spanish filmmakers.

Resumen: Tras algunas palabras sobre su biografía y su filmografía, nos adentramos en el mundo de Pedro Almodóvar y en su particular zoológico, y con él, en su entomología cinematográfica. Se realiza un comentario descriptivo de los artrópodos utilizados en su obra cinematográfica, tanto en las escenas de su filmografía como en los diálogos, bandas sonoras y títulos de crédito de sus películas. En ellas aparecen numerosas imágenes de y referencias a gran variedad de artrópodos, así como a la cripsis o el mimetismo, formando parte de ellas con diferente frecuencia, simbología e intencionalidad. Mayoritariamente aparecen las maripo-sas, estéticamente / culturalmente vinculadas de forma atávica con lo femenino/ la figura de la mujer, a las que dedica la mayoría de las referencias entomológicas en su obra, y también existe alguna relación entre este insecto y el alma, ambos elementos de origen helénico. También se nutre de la atávica asociación entre los " bichos " y el mal, herencia de la satanización medieval de es-tos animales. Se recoge el origen y el desarrollo de esta vinculación en Occidente entre las mariposas y lo femenino, y entre los " bichos " y el pecado, la muerte y lo deleznable, de cuya herencia cultural en Occidente Almodóvar es un claro ejemplo contem-poráneo. Por último, se pone de manifiesto la influencia, y algunas similitudes, en la obra de Almodóvar en relación con la de Luis Buñuel, así como de elementos consustanciales en ambos y la Escuela Española. Arthropods in the cinema of Pedro Almodóvar Abstract: After a few words about his biography and filmography, we enter the world of Pedro Almodóvar and his particular zoo, and with it we enter the entomology of his films. We give descriptive comments on the arthropods used in his films, and discuss the arthropods that appear in his scenes, dialogues, soundtracks and credit titles. In them appear many images of and references to a wide variety of arthropods, as well as to crypsis or mimicry, displayed with various frequency, symbolism and intentionality. Butterflies are mostly treated as images aesthetically / culturally linked, for ancestral reasons, to femininity and the female figure, themes to which he devotes most of the entomological references in his work, and there is also some connection between this insect and souls, both elements of Hellenic origin. He also feeds on the atavistic association between "bugs" and evil, a legacy of the medieval demonization of these animals. We comment on the origin and development in the West of this connection between butterflies and femininity, and between " bugs" and sin, death and everything despicable, with Almodóvar as a clear contemporary example of this Western cultural heritage. Finally, the influence of Luis Buñuel on Almodóvar's work is highlighted, with comments on some similarities in the work of both filmmakers in the context of some specific elements of the Spanish School.

""In many cultural fields honeybees reveal themselves as a highly generative species; one that humans have become dependent on.  Within the backdrop of Colony Collapse Disorder, this essay examines how live bees are used in the production of art works.  Historically, bees have been an absent presence in art as artists have relied upon bees for the raw material they create (wax, honeycomb) and for their metaphorical value.  Most recently, bees themselves have become art by being transformed into sculptural objects or employed in collaborative insect/human performances that depend upon their embodied labor and participation. Using a bee-centric approach, we track the bees’ path across human art worlds, attentive to the complex ecological, agricultural, and cultural systems they co-create. These interspecies exchanges testify not only to trends in contemporary art, but larger ideas about animal/human boundaries and contemporary environmental issues.
""

Resumen: Se realiza un recorrido a lo largo de más de veinte siglos por la iconografía artropodiana presente en la arquitectura de España y Portugal, desde la arquitectura que nos dejó el Imperio Romano, hasta la arquitectura contemporánea y popular, pasando por la arquitectura del Románico, Gótico, Renacimiento, Barroco, Neoclásico y Modernismo. Con diferentes intencio-nes y simbología, hallamos artrópodos formando parte de la arquitectura ibérica, bien como elementos mitológicos, didácticos, simbólicos o moralistas, o bien como elementos meramente decorativos. Especial interés poseen los mosaicos romanos y los azulejos árabes, que han dejado una fuerte huella en la arquitectura Ibérica posterior, y cuya influencia ha llegado hasta nues-tros días, tanto en España como en Portugal. On arthropods in Iberian architecture Abstract: A tour is taken through the arthropodian iconography of Spanish and Portuguese architecture across more than twenty centuries, from the architectural heritage of the Roman Empire to contemporary and popular architecture, through Ro-manesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassic and Modernist architecture. With different intentions and symbolism, we found arthropods forming part of Iberian architecture, either as mythological, didactic, symbolic or moralistic elements, or as purely decorative elements. Of special interest are Roman mosaics and Arab tiles, which have left a strong imprint on subsequent Iberian architecture, and whose influence has reached our days, both in Spain and Portugal.

Resumen: Se realiza un comentario introductorio sobre los orígenes de las creencias y mitos entomológicos de las culturas Cicládica, Minoica y Micénica como antecedentes de lo que hallaremos en la Grecia Clásica, y que en particular queda refleja-do en los artrópodos presentes en su numismática. A través de sus acuñaciones, nos adentramos en el mundo entomológico de los griegos y en su forma de entender su particular zoológico, y con él, en su extensa y entomológica mitología, literatura y ciencia, que con la impronta etrusca, y con una mayor intencionalidad propagandística y práctica heredará el mundo romano, con una mucha menor diversidad entomológica en sus monedas. Hallamos en sus acuñaciones numerosas imágenes de es-corpiones, cangrejos, gambas, cigarras, saltamontes, mantis, mariposas, abejas, avispas o escarabajos, que aparecen con frecuencia en sus monedas, reflejando y formando parte consustancial de sus mitos, creencias, conocimientos y universo. Se mencionan y se describen los artrópodos que aparecen en su numismática, y se comenta su origen, su intencionalidad y su significado. Arthropods in Classical Greece & Rome coins Abstract: Introductory comments are made on the origins of entomological beliefs and myths in the Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean cultures, as background to what we find in Classical Greece, and in particular as reflected in the arthropods present in its coins. Through their coinage, we enter the entomological world of the Greeks and their understanding of their particular zoo, and with it, their extensive and entomological mythology, literature and science, which, with the Etruscan imprint and a greater propagandistic and practical intentionality, will be inherited by the Roman world, with much less entomological diversity on their coins. We find on their coinage numerous images of scorpions, crabs, prawns, cicadas, grasshoppers, mantises, butterflies , bees, wasps and beetles, which frequently appear on their coins, reflecting and forming an essential part of their myths, beliefs, knowledge and universe. The arthropods that appear on their coins are listed and described, and comments are made on their origin, intentionality and meaning.

To believe that mankind, specifically humans exist in vacuum is an erroneous take on the world and the way that it normally functions. In reality, humans can never achieve the perfect image of an autonomous separate being, rather they embody one of the threads that are strictly interwoven within the larger fabric of planetary life. The amalgamation of human, environment, and nonhuman animals encompass the philosophy of existence eliminating that each of these forces is absolute. This paper, through the theory of Ecocriticism, illuminates how nonhuman subjects and human individuals interact with one another through the lens of its sister discipline in humanities: Animal Studies, explaining how the portrait of the animal shapes human realities in the more than human world by undoing the nature-culture binary. Through the analysis of separate scientific data, books, and articles the central interests of this study firmly rest upon the pillar of three main beliefs discussed: (1) the issue of Otherness and Anthropocentric Mastery, (2) Ecofeminism as Speciesism, and (3) Art as form of resistance: the history of representation and the misrepresentation of the nonhuman animal in visual media. The confluence behind these areas offer up an array of novel perspectives, insights, and answers on how the human world and the natural world of nonhuman animals are two sides of the same coin with similar histories, sufferings, and an unwavering thirst for life.

This entry examines the geopolitical economic utility of the dog in China during the Chairmanship of Mao Tsetung (1949-76) and how this pivoted unexpectedly with the neoliberal initiatives that Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping (1978-1992) enacted. In so doing, it troubles the Marxian analytical divide between exchange (pet) and use value (meat). By drawing on the dyadic co-evolutionary connection between canine and human, the distinction between exchange and use is seen to be grounded in an uninterrogated relational (reproductive) economy of death, wherein the constitution and meaning of life is rendered arbitrary and fungible.

La figura del carnero destaca de forma significativa dentro del simbolismo animalístico en el cristianismo. El presente artículo se centra en el estudio diacrónico de las representaciones de dicho animal insertas dentro del tipo iconográfico del Sacrificio de Isaac, cuya fuente literaria es el Génesis 22. El análisis pormenorizado de este elemento significante dentro del pasaje veterotestamentario se torna fun- damental a la hora de acudir a los primeros textos realizados por los padres de la Iglesia, generando en sí la aparición del ángel portando el carnero, una variante tipológica dentro del devenir del tipo iconográfico en su continuidad y variación. El objetivo, por tanto, es atender a aquellas representaciones que beben de las fuentes de la patrística, la haggadah hebrea y el tafsir islámico y que son testigos de la pervi- vencia de las variantes tipológicas dentro de la tradición cultural convencionalizada occidental.

Der Artikel konfrontiert die Kölner Retrospektive des französischen Künstlers Pierre Huyghe (Museum Ludwig, 2014) mit dem "Versuch einer Kosmologie" des angloamerikanischen Mathematikers und Philosophen Alfred North Whitehead. Diese an der Biologie des 19. und der Physik des 20. Jahrhunderts geschulte Naturphilosophie erkennt die natürliche Wirklichkeit als ein relationales und prozessuales Geschehen der Realisierung, in dem Entitäten keine stabile Identität annehmen, sondern räumlich wie zeitlich stets im Übergang sind. Die Naturdinge bringen sich fortwährend auf eine performativ zu nennende Weise hervor. Diese Sichtweise erlaubt ein tieferes Verständnis von Huyghes Ausstellungspraxis. Erschienen im Sammelband Kosmos & Kontingenz, hg. von Ph. Weber, T. Sparenberg, R. Roessler, Fink 2016.

The article presents some thoughts about the cosmetic palette New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Acc.-No. 10.176.78 and a new interpretation of the piece. It can be interpreted as a depiction of a two-headed turtle, a representation of a real-life reptile. It dates back to the fourth millennium BC and for this reason, the depiction of dicephalic animals can count as very old. This interpretation can be expanded to palettes depicting two-headed birds.

You are walking through a tree shaded path and you encounter a donkey on parade. The walk is enchanting, with music, donkeys and goats, their caretakers, cooking appliances, and people preparing to sing when they reach their destination. The donkey is like a celebrity, with staff hovering nearby and people lining up for a closer look. People are starved for this kind of contact with an animal that is so unfamiliar, yet so ordinary that its presence seems like magic. The donkey is a gift, reminding us that families used to gift each other precious animals in the context of their particular rituals of the time. Bill Burns' drawings are small yet equally commanding invitations to contemplate how animals come to us and how we encounter other species on whom we rely in this late industrial age. The drawings also remind me that it is too soon to talk about a (post)industrial age.  The transport of animals and people to the New World was built on a callous calculation of life in relation to death, time, efficiency, and profit. Like the donkey, the animals and animal parts shown on the drawings in this exhibition are small, gleaming fragments of life floating through and away from such calculations. These drawings are so gentle they don’t seem to belong in the same lexicon, but they remind us of the world in which lives become commodities as they suffer the ships, boats and trains conveying them around the planet. Please, the sheep say to us, and the fish, and the bees, and the donkeys: pay attention.

The horse-man (not woman) is both metaphor and lived relationship, illuminating the Western dominator ecocultural identity that actively denies animal sentience and physical autonomy. The horse-man relationship has played a central symbolic and literal role throughout Western civilization, with the horse’s body serving as a site of both representation and acting-out of the domination of gendered selves and othered animals according to the chain-of-being hierarchy originating with Plato. The relationship has remained core to the dominator identity for thousands of years, including during waves of colonization and in recent assertions of white supremacy. By critically examining the relationships rendered by the horse-man metaphor, the author advocates for the practice of a loving ecocultural identity that replaces domination with respect within relations with individuals of other species.

The following is an interview conducted with Kostas Tsiambaos following a seminar at the Architectural Association on 30 January 2020. This interview as well as the seminar Kostas held at the Architectural Association is owed to his research fellowship at Princeton’s Seeger Center, where he investigated animals in modern Greek architecture.

A cura di Caterina Mordeglia e Paolo Gatti 🔗 https://bit.ly/3mLiX9q
Il collegamento tra i comics e la rappresentazione degli animali
parlanti, in particolare quelli della favola esopica, affonda le sue
radici nel Medioevo. Non solo perché dal punto di vista figurativo,
secondo una tecnica che precorre le strips odierne, i copisti nei
manoscritti corredavano la narrazione con illustrazioni che ne
rappresentavano in sequenza i momenti salienti. Ma soprattutto
perché è nel Medioevo che gli animali di Esopo, archetipi anonimi
di vizi e virtù umane – e in quanto tali ancora utilizzati nelle raccolte
dei predicatori tardomedievali come Oddone di Cheriton –
acquistano una propria personalità. Insomma, non solo rappresentano
gli uomini ma si identificano con essi.
Tale passaggio si compie attraverso quella che fu una delle forme
evolutive del genere esopico di più vasta fioritura nelle letterature
medievali di tutta Europa: l’epica animale. Nell’Ysengrimus,
nel Roman de Renard, nel Reineke Fuchs la volpe, il lupo, il gallo,
l’orso assumono nomi propri e caratteri ben definiti, proprio
come Topolino, Paperino e tutti i personaggi del mondo Disney,
non solo dei fumetti ma anche dei lungometraggi animati.
SOMMARIO:

C. Mordeglia, Introduzione. E. Fabbro, Tereo, l’uomo-upupa di Aristofane: una metamorfosi incompiuta – G. Paduano, Il linguaggio dell’animalità nelle Metamorfosi di Ovidio – M. Pastoureau, La voix du corbeau antique et médiéval – C. Mordeglia, Animali ‘recitanti’. Segnali di coscienza teatrale nell’Alto Medioevo – P. Dandrey, Physiognomonie antique et fable ésopique. Un cousinage de ‘parlerie’ animale – F. Stok, Il linguaggio dei corpi. Animali e fisiognomica – S. La Barbera, Cosa aspettarsi da una zanzara? Epigonismo espressivo nel Culex pseudovirgiliano – W. Lapini, Animali che si lamentano con gli uomini (Aviano, Epistola a Teodosio 5.1 Guagl.) – F. Santi, Ululati. Storie di confine/storie al confine – V. Piro, Animali parlanti, vizi e virtù: il caso dei topi nelle Fabulae di Oddone di Cheriton – F. Sanguineti, Dante ‘animale’ e il V dell’Inferno – L. Battaglia, Le ragioni degli animali in Voltaire – M. Nucci, «Ti rispetto e per questo ti ucciderò». Il pesce di Santiago in Il vecchio e il mare – G. Giorello, La filosofia di Topolino. Tavole a cura di G. Cavazzano, G. Silvestri, Staino. Indici.

Tiere sind auf unterschiedliche Art und Weise Teil unserer häuslichen Umgebung. So werden ihnen in menschlichen Domizilen eigene Wohnstätten eingerichtet, als sog. Ungeziefer hingegen gelten sie als ungebetene Gäste in den menscheneigenen ‚vier Wänden‘. Tierliche Materialien wie Felle und Häute wiederum dienen der wohnlichen Ausgestaltung von Innenräumen. Tiere entwickeln aber auch selbst Strategien des Sich-Einrichtens in unterschiedlichen Territorien und Habitaten – ob in unmittelbarer Nähe des Menschen oder in Distanz zu diesem. Im gemeinsam oder getrennt ,bewohnten‘ Raum zeigt sich somit eine Vielfalt an Mensch-Tier-Relationen, die teilweise im Widerspruch zueinander stehen, teilweise erstaunen und erheitern.
In der Tradition der Salons des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts laden wir im Rahmen unserer Lecture Series „SALON TIER“ das Publikum dazu ein, mit unseren Gästen über verschiedene Ausprägungen menschlichen und tierlichen Zusammenlebens und -wohnens zu diskutieren. Anliegen ist es, das Konzept der Kohabitation von Mensch und Tier neu zu denken.

By examining images of the imaginary Chinese animal Sum Xu, this essay engages with questions about artistic origins and authorial originality, two art-historical concepts that so often exclude peripheral artists and their supposedly derivative artworks. Drawn by the Polish-Ruthenian Jesuit Michał Boym, the Sum Xu challenges the conventional accounts of images' origins. As will be demonstrated, Boym's image cannot be associated with a single place; its visual form derives its appearance from a multitude of sources, and the creature's erratic afterlives further destabilize the concept of origin as an authorial act tied to a singular moment in space and time.

La presencia de la imagen de los animales en las manifestaciones gráficas , plásticas y artísticas en general es tan antigua que casi podríamos decir que es el motor fundamental de su origen y su propia existencia. Ni siquiera el devenir de los cambios históricos y sociales de la modernidad ha cambiado casi nada al respecto. Lo más visitado y compartido en internet siguen siendo las imágenes y videos de gatos, lo que no hace sino constatar una mera evolución de la sacralización del gato desde el antiguo Egipto. Los animales, sean como mascotas, foco de entretenimiento o fuente de fascinación naturalista, siguen siendo los protagonistas de la presencia mediática tal y como lo habían sido de las producciones bibliográficas, desde los bestiarios manuscritos ilustrados hasta su evolución impresa. La primera imagen colgada en Instagram correspondía a un perro constatando esta afirmación.
Esta foto de un joven golden retriever fue tomada en un puesto de tacos llamado "Tacos Chilakos", y el pie pertenece a la novia de Systrom, según un portavoz de Instagram. El nombre del perro y su dueño son desconocidos.

La fotografía y sus derivados han tomado las riendas de los nuevos medios de comunicación (audio)visual y hemos perdido consciencia de hasta qué punto nuestra educación fundamentalmente iconográfica nos hace percibir la fotografía como una ventana a la realidad fácilmente reconocible e identificable, aunque para reconocer sin problemas lo que ha sido registrado por una cámara precise de un aprendizaje secular de reconocimiento de convenciones gráficas del dibujo, la pintura, la escultura y todo tipo de artificios de la imagen que implican análisi, reconocimiento y observación en complicidad con nuestra percepción bajo la dictadura del sentido de la vista.

Representar no es lo mismo que reproducir, y aunque en muchos casos la analogía entre lo representado y lo reproducido coinciden no siempre es así, y la confusión de ambos términos ha llevado a menudo a engaños o cuando menos confusiones y tergiversaciones aliadas con el lenguaje hablado y escrito.

The presence of the image of animals in graphic, plastic and artistic manifestations in general is so old that we could almost say that it is the fundamental engine of its origin and its own existence. Not even the evolution of the historical and social changes of modernity has changed almost anything in this regard. The most visited and shared on the internet are still the images and videos of cats, which only confirms a mere evolution of the sacralization of the cat from ancient Egypt. Animals, whether as pets, focus of entertainment or source of naturalistic fascination, continue to be the protagonists of the media presence just as they had been in bibliographic productions, from the illustrated manuscript bestiaries to their printed evolution. The first image posted on Instagram corresponded to a dog confirming this statement.
This photo of a young golden retriever was taken at a taco stand called "Tacos Chilakos," and the foot belongs to Systrom's girlfriend, according to an Instagram spokesperson. The dog's name and owner are unknown.

Photography and its derivatives have taken the reins of the new visual (audio) communication media and we have lost consciousness of the extent to which our fundamentally iconographic education makes us perceive photography as a window to reality easily recognizable and identifiable, although to recognize without problems what has been recorded by a camera requires a secular learning of recognition of graphic conventions of drawing, painting, sculpture and all kinds of artifices of the image that involve analysis, recognition and observation in complicity with our perception under the dictatorship of the sense of sight.

Representing is not the same as reproducing, and although in many cases the analogy between the represented and the reproduced coincide, this is not always the case, and the confusion of both terms has often led to deception or at least confusions and misrepresentations allied with spoken language. and written.

This essay focuses on the role played by symbolism in the representation of animals in art. It investigates the intrinsic relations between anthropocentrism and objectification and how contemporary artists subvert the power of classical symbolism in order to rethink our relationship with animals.

Common and exotic, glamorous and ferocious, sociable and sullen: zebras mean many things to many people. The extraordinary beauty of their striped coats makes them one of the world’s most recognizable animals. They have been immortalized in paint by artists including George Stubbs and Lucian Freud, and zebra-print designs permeate contemporary society – on beanbags and bikinis, car seats and pencil cases. Zebras even have a road crossing named after them. But the natural and cultural history of the zebra remains a mystery to most. Few know that there are three species of zebra, or that one of these is currently endangered, or that the quagga, an animal that once roamed southern Africa in large numbers before dying out in the 1880s, is among the zebra’s many subspecies.
Zebra is a comprehensive and wide-ranging study of the natural and cultural history of this popular animal. Using a wide range of sources and stories, it shows how the zebra’s history engages and intersects with diverse topics, including eighteenth-century humour, imperialism and camouflage technologies. Including more than a hundred illustrations, many previously unpublished, it offers a new way of thinking about this much-loved but frequently misunderstood animal.

Animal figures are an intrinsic feature of ancient Egyptian wall scenes, yet they have received little attention when it comes to artistic analysis in comparison to their human counterparts. The current research aims to shed new light on the technical processes used by Egyptian artisans when rendering animals during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods by investigating an artistic convention known as the ‘canon of proportion’, which, thus far, has only been linked to human anatomy. The study focuses on wall scenes in elite tombs from the Upper Egyptian sites of Meir and Beni Hassan where existing grid systems survive with three animal species – standing cattle, standing and swimming ducks, and standing oryx.

This paper will present the results of developing a new digital methodology which enables the surviving grids associated with animal figures at Meir and Beni Hassan to be reconstructed. Once reconstructed, hypothetical versions of the grid systems are used to examine a corpus of cattle, ducks and oryx from elite cemeteries across Egypt dating from the 5th to the 12th Dynasties. Applying the hypothetical Meir and Beni Hassan grids to the corpus reveals regional and temporal patterns in the proportions of the animal figures. As such, investigating the existence of a proportional guide for animals generates new information regarding practices used by Egyptian artisans when illustrating non-human subjects in two-dimensional form. The methodology employed for the current project provides a platform for examining ratios of further animal species, and breaks ground for future investigation into temporal and regional trends relating to proportion beyond the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

Die zeitgenössischen Künste sind auf das Tier gekommen. Zunehmend bestimmen auch non-human animals die Werke. Warum ist das so? Woher rührt das gegenwärtige Bedürfnis, sich neue Bilder vom Tier zu machen? Vielleicht weil wir derzeit gar nicht so genau wissen, was ein Tier eigentlich ist. Unsere Begriffe sind durcheinander geraten. Tanz und Performance eignen sich als Live-Kunst-formen der körperlichen Begegnung besonders, um das gegenwärtige Verhältnis von Mensch und Tier zu erforschen und sich neue Begriffe zu bilden. Dieser kurze, thesenhafte Essay geht diesen Fragen nach und umreisst die Gründe und Konsequenzen der zugrundeliegenden Entwicklungen. Er wurde 2016 im Band Episteme des Theaters, hg. von M. Cairo, M. Hannemann, U. Haß, J. Schäfer, bei Transkript erschienen. Er ist Teil des Beitrags "Bühnen des Nicht-Menschlichen", gemeinsam verfasst mit G. Egert, S. Apostolou-Hölscher,  M. Diagne, S. Hagemann, D. Hahn.

http://mad.hypotheses.org/715  This is the very first version of a bibliography on history of animals in the (Medieval and Ottoman Muslim world. Please send comments at [email protected] and [email protected]. If people are interested, we could organized a work-group on Zotero.org to share a bibliography with specialists from various origins and topics (hunting, falconry, veterinary medicine, horses, iconography, etc.)
This bibliography presents only secondary literature, no sources at all for the moment.

Još je prošla godina označila svojevrsni pozitivni trend “ulaska životinja u muzeje”. S kostimografkinjom, docenticom na TTF-u, predsjednicom ULUPUH-a i uzgajivačicom dalmatinskih pasa razgovaramo o izložbi Nacionalna baština – hrvatske autohtone pasmine pasa koja je u srpnju održana u zagrebačkoj Galeriji Karas.

Animal figures are an intrinsic feature of ancient Egyptian wall scenes, yet they have received little attention when it comes to artistic analysis in comparison to their human counterparts. The current research aims to shed new light on the technical processes used by Egyptian artisans when rendering animals during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods by investigating an artistic convention known as the ‘canon of proportion’, which, thus far, has only been linked to the human form. The study focuses on wall scenes in elite tombs from the Upper Egyptian sites of Meir and Beni Hassan where existing grid systems survive with three animal species – cattle, ducks, and oryx.

This paper will present the results of developing a new digital methodology which enables the surviving grids associated with animal figures at Meir and Beni Hassan to be reconstructed. Once reconstructed, hypothetical versions of the grid systems are used to examine a corpus of cattle, ducks and oryx from elite cemeteries across Egypt dating from the 5th to the 12th Dynasties. Applying the hypothetical Meir and Beni Hassan grids to the corpus reveals regional and temporal patterns in the proportions of the animal figures.  As such, investigating the existence of a proportional guide for animals generates new information regarding practices used by Egyptian artisans when illustrating non-human subjects in two-dimensional form. The methodology employed for the current project provides a platform for examining ratios of further animal species, and breaks ground for future investigation into temporal and regional trends relating to proportion beyond the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

This book review was published in the peer-reviewed Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS VOLUME 10, ISSUE 4, 2012; pg. 188-197).

In Surface Encounters (2011), Ron Broglio broadens the phenomenological ground of his first book, Technologies of the Picturesque (2008), in which he discusses representations of nature by art and technology. Broglio asks the seemingly impossible question of what is an animal phenomenology, or what is it like to be an animal from the animal’s perspective. To explore this question, he combines concepts found in contemporary animal art with philosophy as a way of breaking away from conventional approaches to thinking about the worlds of non-human animals.

Art World China  (founded in 1979 - leading art magazine in China), in its first January 2015 edition concentrates on the humble sheep to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Sheep (2015); and the myriad of ways that these docile yet resilient animals feature in contemporary art: thematically, iconographically, as media, and metaphor. An article on how sheep have figured in my 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' exhibition series (2013 - 2015) is featured on pgs 104-107. Mostly written in Chinese, there are some English bits, and the images of artists work are a journey through all things 'sheepish' in contemporary art!