Animals in Contemporary Art

This article aims to theoretically capture the problem of animal subjectivity in visual arts. The author recalls ways of understanding the concept of the animal subject in philosophy, animal psychology, ethology and law, pointing out its specific character in the field of art.
Subjectivity of animals in art is related to both the status and placement of the animals in the topics and visual structure of the works of art.  Animals are able to achieve subjectivity in art when they are depicted and perceived as themselves - living creatures with species-dependent needs as well as individual conditions and identities – as opposed to their images being used symbolically.
The text includes a succinct description of changes in the depiction of animals over the course of art history, explaining the connections between the subjectification and objectification of animals in art versus real human-animal relations. It was in the second half of the 20th Century when animal subjectivity in art changed the most significantly, as artists began using real animals as participants in their pieces, and their dead body parts as materials.
Looking into both art with animal images and art using real animals, the author sees connections between symbolism and instrumentalization, which take animals away from becoming subjects. Using the zoocentric research perspective of Eric Baratay, Łagodzka analyzes animal subjectification and objectification in the process of perceiving art.

[link to the whole dissertation: https://repositorio.uam.es/handle/10486/672482 (in Spanish)]
In my PhD thesis project I have addressed the topic of the presence and agency of non human animals in contemporary art, as well as the evolution and changes in the attitudes of artists towards those animals, to conclude with a bold and innovative exploration of the possibility that animals do make art, inside and outside the gallery space. The main chronological framework of my dissertation embraces approximately five decades, from the mid-sixties to the present day. Regarding my theoretical backing, my foundings certainly lie in the field of art history. Thanks to my background in biology, I have also turned to some scientific disciplines (ethology, primatology, neuroscience...) in order to enrich my proposal and to become closer to the perception and points of view of other animals. Furthermore, the transversal academic conglomerate that constitutes animal studies has helped me to navigate through the different fields and approaches, maintaining non human animals and their perspectives in the spotlight, and simultaneously enlightening and challenging dichotomies such as animal/human, biology/culture, natural/artificial...

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.

""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.
""

La tesi approfondisce l’opera del duo Art Orienté Objet – formato da Marion Laval-Jeantet e Benoît Mangin nel 1991 e ancora attivo –, soffermandosi in particolare sulla polisemia e la polimorfia che la presenza delle altre animali assume in essa.
Con il termine “altre animali” nel testo si fa riferimento alle soggettività tradizionalmente definite “animali” o “animali non-umani”; la declinazione al femminile del termine “gli altri animali” (scelto a partire dalla proposta di Ralph R. Acampora) è inscritta nell’uso dell’universale femminile, dispiegato in tutto il testo.
Il lavoro è espressione di una pratica di ricerca consapevolmente indisciplinata e situata, radicata nel posizionamento queer antispecista dell’autrice.
La tesi è strutturata dalla volontà di riflettere sulla scelta e l’uso del supporto artistico nelle relazioni artistiche con le altre animali, e di proporne una storia material-semiotica. È questa intenzione a portare il focus su quattro opere, selezionate per pensare diversi supporti artistici e riflettere sulle forme di espressione – artistica e non – in cui tali supporti vengono utilizzati.
Dopo due capitoli d’introduzione all’universo di Art Orienté Objet, il terzo capitolo – attraverso l’analisi dell’opera The Year My Voice Broke (1992) – offre una riflessione sull’uso delle arti tessili nell’arte contemporanea e sulla rappresentazione scultorea delle altre animali.
A partire dall’opera Roadkill Coat (2000), nel quarto capitolo viene indagato l’uso della tassidermia in arte contemporanea ed evidenziato il potenziale perturbante e speculativo di questo supporto. Se tradizionalmente l’uso del corpo imbalsamato delle altre animali s’inscrive in una logica specista d’oppressione, qui emerge come un uso critico di questo medium da parte delle artiste possa aprire alla possibilità di ripensare la relazione con il non-umano.
L’esposizione angolana Leo et Bos (2006) è stata l’occasione per evidenziare come la storia material-semiotica della fotografia intrecci le storie di safari, diorami, musei, autorità scientifica, capitalismo, colonialismo e specismo e per ri-pensare il dispositivo fotografico in relazione al nodo realtà-visione-rappresentazione.
L’ultimo capitolo si concentra sull’aspetto performativo di Que le cheval vive en moi (2011). L’attenzione alle pratiche di etologia ed empatia del duo ha permesso di sottolineare come l’opera si proponga di profanare l’identità di specie sul piano biologico e su quello comportamentale, mostrando così la possibilità di un con-divenire multispecie.

---

The text explores the work of the duo Art Orienté Objet – formed by Marion Laval-Jeantet and Benoît Mangin in 1991 and still active –, focusing on the polysemy and the polymorphy of the animal presence in it.
The term “other animals” in this text refers to the subjectivities traditionally defined as “animals” or “non-human animals”; the expression “other animals” (chosen on the basis of Ralph R. Acampora’s proposition) is here declined as feminine: considering the absence of a neutral declension in Italian, the author decided to inflect all the text to the feminine one, as a subversive gesture toward the patriarchal language.
The text is an expression of a consciously undisciplined and situated practice of research, rooted in the author’s antispeciesist queer positioning.
The text is structured by the intention of investigating the choice and the use of the artistic medium in the artistic relations with other animals, and of proposing a material-semiotic history of it. From this comes the focus on four works of art, selected to reflect on different artistic media and on the forms of expression – artistic and not – in which these media are involved.
After two preliminary chapters of introduction to Art Orienté Objet’s universe, the third chapter – through the analysis of the work The Year My Voice Broke (1992) – presents a reflection on the use of textile arts in contemporary art and on the sculptural representation of other animals.
From the work Roadkill Coat (2000) the forth chapter explores the use of taxidermy in contemporary art and it highlights the uncanny and speculative potential of this medium. If the use of stuffed bodies of other animals is traditionally inscribed in a speciesist logic of oppression, the text underscores how a political use of this medium by the artists could open to the possibility to rethink the relation with the non-human.
The Angolan exhibition Leo et Bos (2006) was the opportunity to point out how the material-semiotic history of photography intertwine the histories of safaris, dioramas, museums, scientific authority, capitalism, colonialism and speciesism and to reconsider the photographic device in relation to the tangle between reality, vision and representation. 
The last chapter focuses on the performative aspect of Que le cheval vive en moi (2011). The duo attention to the ethological and empathetic practices has led to highlight how the work of art propose to desecrate the species identity on the biological and performative plan, thus showing the possibility of a multispecies becoming-with.

---

Le texte étudie l’œuvre du duo Art Orienté Objet – formé par Marion Laval-Jeantet et Benoît Mangin en 1991 et encore en activité –, en en creusant notamment la polysémie et la polymorphie de la présence des autres animaux.
Le terme « autres animaux » fait référence aux subjectivités traditionnellement définit « animaux » ou « animaux non-humain » ; l’expression (choisi en suivant la proposition de Ralph R. Acampora) est déclinée dans le texte au féminin, en conformité avec le choix d’utiliser une écriture où le féminin l’emporte sur le masculin, déployé tout au long du texte.
Le travail est expression d’une pratique de recherche consciemment indisciplinée et située, enracinée dans le positionnement queer antispéciste de l’auteure.
Le texte est structuré par la volonté de réfléchir au choix et à l’utilisation du support artistique dans les relations artistiques avec les autres animaux, et d’en présenter une histoire matériel-sémiotique. Cette volonté emmène à se focaliser sur quatre œuvres, sélectionnées pour penser différents supports artistiques et réfléchir aux formes d’expression – artistiques ou pas – dans lesquelles ces supports sont utilisés. 
Après deux chapitres d’introduction à l’univers d’Art Orienté Objet, le troisième chapitre – par l’analyse de l’œuvre The Year My Voice Broke (1992) – offre une réflexion sur l’utilisation des arts textiles dans l’art contemporaine et sur la représentation sculpturale des autres animaux.
À partir de l’œuvre Roadkill Coat (2000), dans le quatrième chapitre on interroge l’utilisation de la taxidermie en art contemporain et on met en évidence le potentiel troublant et spéculatif de ce support. Si l’utilisation du corps empaillé des autres animaux s’inscrit traditionnellement dans une logique spéciste d’oppression, ici on souligne comment un emploi critique de ce medium de la part des artistes puisse ouvrir à la possibilité de repenser la relation avec le non-humain.
L’exposition angolais Leo et Bos (2006) a été l’occasion pour mettre en lumière comment l’histoire matériel-sémiotique de la photographie croise les histoires de safari, dioramas, musées, autorités scientifique, capitalisme, colonialisme et spécisme, et pour repenser le dispositif photographique en relation au nœud réel-vision-représentation.
Le dernier chapitre se focalise sur l’aspect performatif de Que le cheval vive en moi (2011). L’attention aux pratiques d’éthologie et d’empathie du duo a permit de souligner comment cet œuvre propose de profaner l’identité d’espèce sur le plan biologique autant que sur celui du comportement, en montrant ainsi la possibilité d’un devenir ensemble multi-espèce.

The « Hunting and Nature » museum denaturalized On the museum institution being exposed to an « ecological discourse », and the role of contemporary art in thinking new critical and relational ecologies
A case study : the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, located in Paris, offers particularly interesting examples of experimental undertakings in re-making, or rather de-making and deconstructing the museum and the exhibition genre as a « mediating interface of modernity ». More importantly, 1 those specific undertakings, engaging with complex realities and facing the museum's internal contradictions — namely, the development of an ecological discourse in a museum dedicated to hunting and nature — under the initiative and spirit of its director, Claude d'Anthenaise, pave the way towards renewed experiences of being-within-the-world, and might help us rethink new aesthetic and relational ecologies. When entering this museum, located in a 17th « hôtel particulier » in le Marais, one is thrust into an inextricable entanglement of representations, imaginaries and narratives. We will first explore how the (apparent) contradiction between presenting the history of tracking and hunting and endorsing ecological issues is precisely what makes this place unique. Intricate discourses and realities may re-emerge from the blurring of boundaries between different ontologies, institutional historical frameworks, disciplines and regimes of exhibition and attention. Those superpositions and junctions, by putting at risk such distinctions as nature / culture or subject / object, seem to create a stage for enabling a renewed aesthetic experience of ecological relations — questioning art theory, aesthetics and ecological discourses themselves. How this shift occurred, practically, in the history of the museum, especially through the growing role given to contemporary art (since its reopening in 2007, with a new and original scenography)? Hybridity, humour, irony and traps to the visitor (whose role needs reformulation) are the core ingredients of this complexification of the modes of collecting, classifying and presenting works to the public. The troubled and uncanny associations, often magnified by an artist-curator coalition, are critical to the emergence of a museum facing its own inconsistencies, and the very sign of its vitality.

For a moment, let's look at the work of Jeff Koons in its artistic and cultural context, separating it from issues having to do with production, financing, promotion, and reception-for the latter have received ample attention in the wake of the artist's retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art. What matters in the end is the work. What is it about, and what has been achieved through it? Koons and his work unleash passionate reactions, and because of that, not enough effort is directed toward making sense of the actual artworks as embodiments of ideas and sensations, and as systems of forms in space.

Premiérový medzinárodný výstavný projekt Galérie umelcov Spiša pod názvom Human Animal I. / Najbližší príbuzní: Opica – Pes – Mačka sa zaoberá človekom ako integrálnou súčasťou živočíšnej ríše, a to z viacerých
uhlov pohľadu a v nadväznosti na kultúrno-historický vývoj. 16.06.2021 - 31.10.2021

In late August what was celebrated as the first contemporary art exhibition for dogs took place in London. The event, part of the #PlayMore campaign, had the noble intention of encouraging play among humans and their companion animals. But when I read about it I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly. Really? The first contemporary art exhibition for dogs? As an art history scholar who has devoted these past years to study the presence and agency of non human animals in contemporary art I can think of, at least, two other earlier examples of art exhibitions intended for dogs that happened during the 1970s, and I cannot guarantee if any of those was the first one with an absolute degree of certainty. I do find both of these other artistic canine projects fascinating. However, I feel particularly attached to one of them: an exhibition called 'The Collaborations of Ch. Rotham' that opened in the seaside village of Cadaqués (North East of Spain) in the summer of 1976.