“The Pig That Therefore I Am”

Abstract

How does visual art affect the work of social movements? In her photography series “The Pig That Therefore I Am,” artist Miru Kim photographs her nude body alongside pigs in factory farms and in farm sanctuaries. Using Kim’s photographs, her artist’s statement, and her artist talk from her exhibit opening, I argue that Kim’s work, and several other visual artists’ work, mirrors the work of animal rights activists as they bring to light typically invisible animal practices, subvert typical power relations regarding “the gaze,” and shift symbolic boundaries between humans and animals. By making the invisible visible, and by highlighting symbolic boundaries between humans and animals, I show how visual art plays a significant role in viewers’ initial awareness of and potential mobilization into the animal rights movement. I argue that these roles hold true for art created explicitly for animal rights purposes, as well as art created without such a political goal in mind. In doing so, this article contributes to our broader understanding of the relationship between art and social movements.