Abstract
Simple SummaryThis paper examines a selection of 21st-century international examples of exhibited visual artworks involving live or deceased animals. It seeks to reveal the risks and benefits of unique encounters with animals through art and to consider the ethical implications of artwork deploying animals. Australian and international animal protection laws are not explicit when it comes to the sourcing of animals for art nor for the direct inclusion of animals in artworks. This lack leads to a variety of artistic practices; some considered ethical while others are viewed as controversial, bordering on animal cruelty. Recommendations of how to better determine what is the acceptable use of animals in art with a view to informing legal guidelines and artistic best practice are presented.This paper examines a selection of 21st-century international examples of exhibited visual artworks involving live or deceased animals. It seeks to reveal the risks and benefits of unique encounters with animals through art and to consider the ethical implications of artwork deploying animals. Australian and international animal protection laws are not explicit when it comes to the sourcing of animals for art nor for the direct inclusion of animals in artworks. This lack leads to a variety of artistic practices, some considered ethical while others are viewed as controversial, bordering on animal cruelty. Artwork selection is determined by a focus on high-profile artists who intentionally use animals in their practice and whose reputation has been fostered by this intention. The study provides insight into how the intentional use of ethically sourced animals within art practice can be a method of addressing hierarchal human–animal imbalances. Further, this study identifies unethical practices that may be best avoided regardless of the pro-animal political statements the artists put forward. Recommendations of how to better determine what is an acceptable use of animals in art with a view to informing legal guidelines and artistic best practice are presented.
Highlights
Animals have been depicted in visual art for thousands of years; whether it be via cave paintings and ceremonial costumes made by ancient indigenous communities, or via representations on canvas as part of an idyllic rural scene, busy marketplace, or the family hearth
Divergent, Australian and international laws pertaining to animal protection, with little to no guidance given for the ethical treatment of animals used in art, current artistic practice appears to be mediated by individual galleries and their specific governing laws as well as the artists’ own conceptual and philosophical positionings
What one contemporary artist considers the appropriate sourcing of animals for an artwork is quite different to another artist, and what one contemporary artist considers is the appropriate inclusion and representation of animals in an artwork differs to another artist
Summary
Animals have been depicted in visual art for thousands of years; whether it be via cave paintings and ceremonial costumes made by ancient indigenous communities, or via representations on canvas as part of an idyllic rural scene, busy marketplace, or the family hearth. Some contemporary artists choose to directly include animals as part of the artwork to make political statements about our relationships with animals and what that can signify in society. This method of using animals in art practice involves an experiential and tactile encounter that expands our understandings of what art is and the role it plays in everyday life. The late 20th-century German artist Joseph Beuys was renowned for blurring art and life by using live and deceased animals in his art performances Beuys approached his performances with animals as a means of expanding traditional notions of art, becoming part of a broader social consciousness through what he referred to as “Social. This study seeks to identify both ethical, and most importantly, unethical practices that are best avoided regardless of the pro-animal political statements the artists contend they put forward
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