August 8, 2011, Last Call

Wicked Little Critters

Mon, Aug 08, 2011

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.[Genisis 1:26]

Philosopher Rene Descartes is famous for separating the human mind from its body, but he also distanced the human from the animal, declaring that animals had no minds per se, and therefore were incapable of feelings, consciousness or language. He would vivisect live dogs before an audience to prove that animals felt no pain. One wonders if the same can be said of his audiences… Descartes’ failure of empathy may explain how our industrial systems of animal husbandry have justified not only inhumane but also downright cruel treatment of livestock.

Temple Grandin reminds us in the title of her latest book: Animals Make Us Human. There is no reason to doubt that every species must have some type of emotional life and language through which to express themselves, even if it is only through interpretive dance. We may not yet understand other creature’s communications, but ignorance is no proof of non-existence. Animals do have consciousness, every bit as much as we have. Furthermore: animals also have Art.

Housecats and dogs make fetishes of their favorite toys. They perform rituals, and do tricks; some even sing and dance. They are capable of strong emotions and exhibit morality. They know when they have been bad and good. When ignored, domestic critters can even be wicked if they must to get attention.

Descartes underestimated the problem of human/animal relations. Recent complexity theorists have coined an appropriate term for social problems concerning interdependence and uncertainty: they call these Wicked Problems, or even Super Wicked Problems if those who are trying to solve the problem are also the same ones causing it. For instance, global warming would be one example, compounded by the fact that time for a solution is quickly running out. Our relationship to the flora and fauna around us is critical to redefine “dominion” as good stewardship of our shared domain rather than domination. Not just for humans, but for all beings.

It is astonishing how much Internet traffic involves the observation of animals. Technology may have been spearheaded by military logistics or funded by proliferating pornography, but in practice, LOL Cat pictures and videos of wild beasts on trampolines get more hits than most content produced commercially. It is as if today’s pixel pushers have an irrepressible need to shepherd, like neurotic urban border collies who try to wrangle parked cars. Nothing makes us recognize our humanity like observing how personified our critters seem to behave and, inversely, how animalistic humans act, especially when fighting and reproducing. As we continue to develop an increasingly complex cybernetic network of artificial intelligence, we need our pets more than ever to remind us to interact directly, offline, about primary issues of food, shelter and comfort. Emotional intelligence and moral intelligence can never be found in Descartes’ remote language of the mind.

The 12 artists in this show all take for their subject the interpretive relationships between humans and animals. The artworks reveal among other things, how clearly we comprehend the minds of critters, and how much we project ourselves onto them.

Particularly the wicked ones.

Artists featured:
Stephanie Allespach
Krista Chael
Erin Cosgrove
Leeza Doreian
Chris Doyle
Matt Driggs
Dana Hoey
Mitsuko Ikeno
Ian Patrick
Hirsch Perlman
Christopher Reiger
Holly Topping

With special contributions by the Main Street Museum and the Seabiscuit Foundation Prints from the Endangered Species Print Project will also be available for purchase with all profits donated to Animal conservation organizations.