The Representation of Animals in Art
The representation of animals in art dates back to ancient times. For several years, animals have been used in art to portray people's virtues, attitudes, and identities (Martinique 1). Craftspeople in the past provided impressive representations of animals behaving as humans as a result of ancient myths and fables. Animal characteristics such as wings, horns, and claws, for example, were used to indicate the threat of force. Man has always been fascinated with mammals, drawing and painting them in caves since the early stone age (Martinique 1). During this period, the caves were decorated with animals that were hunted for food. The ancient Egyptians also used animal heads to represent their gods, and this is captured in a series of early art. Other uses of animal images include decorating manuscripts and mythical beasts. The culture has not changed since animals are increasingly used in modern-day societies to depict identity. Generally, the artistic representation combines both the features of the animals and humans as a symbol of the bond between the two and man's natural environment. In the 21st century, animal photography is the most common type of art which has been used by various scholars and artists to represent animals and animality in relation to politics if identity. Animal photography is common in the representation of secular and religious art (Bloom 9). Other contemporary issues addressed via animal photography include race, gender, and class.
Breaking Down Human/Animal Distinctions
According to Calarco, the human/animal distinction is one of the breakthroughs defining our characteristics in the modern age (Calarco 6). As opposed to the earlier notion, the barrier separating animals and humans is more permeable because most of the unique human behaviors are often discovered in animals. Such a breakthrough is evident both in anecdotes and in scientific research. Calarco outlines several examples of common human practices that are now apparent in various animal species. For instance, elephants are known to grieve and mourn their dead companions just like humans. Also, primates are known to pass various novel behaviors through cultural means, which is basically a human trait (Calarco 6). In modern society, issues such as human uniqueness have raised questions among anthropologists seeking to establish the origin of the evident differences among the people, cultures, and ethnic communities. The use of animals, especially through art, provides significant answers to the challenges of human uniqueness.
Exploring Human Characteristics and Behavior
Philosophers like Aristotle have examined how human characteristics and behavior impact human identity (Agamben 14). Aristotle regards animals as belonging to a naturalistic schema between plants and humans. According to this schema, plants have life while animals have both life and perception. On the other hand, humans have both properties as well as rationality (Calarco 8). The lack of rationality, which is the primary defining property of animals, contributed to Aristotle's suggestion that animals are not genuinely political (Calarco 8). The voice in animals is critical in the expression of pain and pleasure. However, these properties are not sufficient for the political life. In his own account, René Descartes compares animals to machines and claims that two are not distinguishable based on factors such as self-awareness and mind.
Animal Photography and Depicting Human Identity
Otherness is an important factor in defining the self (Bettany and Belk 164). While man draws it from various aspects of his environment, animals provide the perfect basis for the analysis of identity. Theme parks, for instance, are common centers where art is used to depict human behavior. The contrasts between human beings and animals obtained in these fun parks are critical in facilitating understanding of ourselves as well as our place in the world. According to Martinique, art is continually haunted by the animals as a result of the desire assign symbolism to animals who share our world and how it connects to human cultures. Animals have been a source of endless fascination for man as depicted from their drawings in the caves during the early stone age (Martinique 1). Animal photography not only reminds us of them but also of ourselves, our qualities, and traits and how we assign the same to others. As symbols in photography and various forms of art, animals are important teachers of moral lessons, scientific muses, and companions (Martinique 1). Furthermore, animals have been used as key indicators of human identity as well as our perception of happiness, distress, gender roles, environmental issues, among others.
Animals in Photography and the Human-Animal Relationship
Basically, animal drawings, photography, and representation indicate a lot about our times as well as the relationship between the animal and the human world (Martinique 2). The ancient medieval art incorporated animal motifs in their decorative vocabulary whereby commonplace creatures were used in decorating manuscripts. Currently, animals and animal drawings are still used as symbols representing certain key human values. For instance, in the Christian perspective, a lamb has been adopted as an emphasis for sacrifice for humanity (Martinique 2). Similarly, many animals are portrayed in death in modern animal photography including grave memories, pet urns, and burial sites. Birds, for instance, are commonly used as indicators of winged or free souls. Also, in Christianity, dolphin images are used to indicate the idea of resurrection while a fish acts as a symbol of faith (Martinique 2). Gender roles are also represented in animal photography. For instance, butterflies represent gentleness and lovability, which is basically a feminine trait. On the other hand, animals like horses and lions represent the male character of strength and courage.
Animals in Human Society Throughout History
Before the 19th century, animals were among the first circles that surrounded man. The closeness between man and the animals during this period was both economic and productive (Berger 3). Regardless of man's social and economic predisposition, the man was heavily dependent on animals for work, food, clothing, transport, and protection. However, animals have not only become incorporated into the human circles as sources of these products alone. Instead, animals have been regarded as messengers and promises in most cultures over the years. An example is cattle. Their domestication did not come about to provide man with meat, milk, and hide. Alternatively, they had magical functions including sacrificial and oracular (Berger 4). In establishing the association between humans and animals, Berger suggests that animals are born sentimental and mortal, just like humans. According to Hawaiian Indians, animals do what they need because they were once married to men and acquired the knowledge from their animal wives (Berger 4). While animals can give the same look to other species, they have an exclusive look for humans, which is indicative of familiarity.
Humans and Animals in Photography
Internationally, photographers are exploring diverse iterations of the encounter between humans and animals (Halliday 44). Animal photography is considered as the most visible, voluble, and most powerful way to depict this relationship. In his work of imaging the museum dioramas across the United States, Traer Scott suggests that there are always photographic traces of human presence throughout the work (Halliday 44). Similarly, photographer Perttu Saksa suggests that there is an undeniable relationship and similarity between human beings and the primates. German photographer Alexandra Vogt has taken a wide range of unsettling portraits of horses. According to Halliday, these animal portraits seem to be speaking of a kind of species dysphoria. Through a number of thematic concerns, the photographers are able to invoke human relations and anxieties around animal bodies.
Karen Knorr's Animal Photography
Artists such as Karen Knorr have produced a variety of work on animal photography. Karen is a London-based photographer whose photographs include upper-class interiors that are geographically diverse. In addition, she pairs her work with symbolic animal representations (Lagace 1). In one of the series of her work named Metamorphoses produced between 2015 and 2017, Karen explores the Italian legacy in Europe whereby she uses Ovid's Metamorphoses as frames. The photographs, which feature a variety of animals such as cheetah, giraffe, peafowl among others are used to relate to the modern European culture, which is characterized by global migrations. In addition, this series has a religious meaning since migration has resulted in an overlap between Pagan stories and Christian stories (Lagace 2). The photographs offer meaning related to modern-day life whereby the current trend has a likelihood of transforming the remnants of old Europe into a pluralistic society.In another series named The India Song, whose production is still ongoing since 2008, Karen Knorr narrates her poetic journey from her experiences in India and a trip through Rajasthan. Some of the photographs featured in this series include the Flight for Freedom, Avatars of Devi, The Private Audience, The Return of the Hunter among others (Lagace 1). All the photographs in these series feature different animals to take a specific part of the story in relation to human behavior. In these photographs, Knorr explores both the Mughal and Rajput cultural heritage and how it relates to contemporary issues of animality and feminine subjectivity (Lagace 2). Photographs like The Return of the Hunter, which features a cheetah inside a beautiful mansion, are an indicator of the male gender role since men are expected to be the providers in the Mughal and Rajput cultures.In Lanesborough, another photography series by Karen Knorr produced in 2015, issues of human aspirations, class, and race are well depicted in the images, all of which feature animals and birds. Some of the images contained in this series include the Peers of the Realms, The Wedding Photographer, The Wedding Guests, and The Lady in Waiting. The series is named after a hospital that was closed in the 1990s. Lanesborough is now an extensive hotel and is a global destination for wealthy people (Lagace 2). As illustrated by the photographs, Lanesborough is a place for the royal class of citizens. It is a themed fantasy palace whereby the rooms come with butlers. The images from Knorr's work show that the animals are undressed to kill and are all willing subjects (Lagace 2). The animals featured here include zebras, peafowl, antelopes, among others. All these animals are commonly used to depict pride, beauty, royalty, and wealth. They flaunt their jewelry, pose, and fly all pointing towards a royal connection. The series is a playful satire showing how human beings aspired to be rich, happy, and able to lead luxurious lives. Thus, the issues of class are very well highlighted in Knorr's work.Monogatari is another series of photographs produced by Knorr in 2012 and is still ongoing. The pictures are based on Japanese culture and have been taken in shrines, temples, gardens in Kyoto and Tokyo, ryokans, among other areas (Lagace 2). Various animals appear in the shrines and temples to reference the supernatural stories and folktales in ancient Japanese culture. The animals featured in the photographs include monkeys, red-crowned cranes, among others. Some of the images in the series include Guardian of the Temple, Heri Tori Brighter Eye, Akirame, among others. While most of them possess animal-like features, others are human or inanimate objects. Birds such as the red-crowned crane usually indicate longevity and tell the social and political life of human beings from ancient times to the present.Lastly, Academies is another series produced by Knorr between 1994 and 2005. It features various works such as Natural Selection, Olympia, Painting After Nature, The Art Functionary, The Artist, The Model, The Critic and The Spectator, The Judgement of Paris, The Rediscovery of Antiquity, The Order of Things, What is Human, among others. Knorr started out on this series when she was in a visiting professorship in Sweden. The core purpose of Academies is to interrogate the history of ideas underpinning the Western aesthetics (Knorr 1). In addition, Academies link national identity and patrimony with the foundation of European fine art culture. The series sets up a critical gaze to examine the remains of the classical aesthetic displayed in European Museums (Knorr 1). Apart from the use of brass plaques and photographic objects to parody the academic style, Knorr also uses props and models in this series featuring animals such as monkeys cavort within the sculpture to create a dialogue with each of the site the photograph was taken. In addition, there are apes, parrots, and wolves roaming freely within the museum to invite suspension and interrogate the existing boundaries between the human and nonhuman. In one of the images featured in this series, namely Movement of the Soul, a black hand caresses the inanimate beauty of Canova's nymph. The image indicates the existing taboo of touch and racism (Knorr 1). As a woman, Knorr was able to roam through the Royal Academy at a time when not so many women were privileged to such opportunities. She depicts her breakthrough as a breakaway from the rules of a rigidly patriarchal Academy. In addition, the series raises the question of the status of women and the ethnic minority in society in the 21st century. Furthermore, Knorr asks the pertinent question of whether museums and academies are still privileged sites that can be used to promote national identity.
Depicting Humanity Through Art
Most ancient photography and paintings featuring humans, animals, or inanimate objects tell a story about humanity, the way of life, beliefs, among others. In her article, Lucy explores the work of various artists who have featured such representations through photography. For example, in Edgar Degas' Study for Young Spartans, the image shows how the young Spartans lived and gender roles at the time. In this picture, there are two groups of adolescents in the plains of Sparta while the elders are in the background (Lucy 2). At a glance, the photograph can be interpreted as an illustration of competition between the sexes. However, it indicates the ancient courtship rituals, based on iconographic studies. Also, the same photograph shows one of the females crossing over a male figure into the female side, which is an indicator of mating rather than competition as previously thought (Lucy 2). These images are interpreted through iconographic studies to tell the stories of the ancient communities, rituals, political and economic organizations.
The Coexistence of Humans and Animals in Art
Berger asserts that the cultural marginalization of animals is a complicated process compared to their physical marginalization. However, with art such as photography, it has been possible to create the "animals of the mind" which cannot be dispersed easily (Berger 15). Instead, they have been co-opted into the life of humans and being depicted as indicators of human behavior and identity based on their way of life. According to Martinique, animals used to be the center of the human world before the 19th century, whereby they were endowed, worshipped with a lot of significance. However, the trend took a downturn during the era of industrialization in the 19th century, whereby the animals disappeared and reappeared back in the form of raw materials and machines. Consequently, the relationship between man and animal vanished. With animal photography, the companionship has been reinvented.
Work Cited
Agamben, Giorgio. Thew Open: man and Animal. Stanford California: Stanford University Press, 2004.
Berger, John. About Looking. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
Bettany, Shona, and Russel Belk. “Disney discourses of self and Other: animality, primitivity, modernity, and postmodernity.” Consumption Markets & Culture (2011): 164-179.
Bloom, Harold. George Orwell’s Animal Farm. New York:: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2009.
Calarco, Mathew. Thinking through animals: Identity, Difference, Indistinction. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2015.
Halliday, Amy. The human/animal in contemporary South African Photography. Routledge, 2016.
Knorr, Karen. Academies. 2014. 3 January 2018
Lagace, Rose. INSPIRATION: The Contemporary Photography of Karen Knorr. London, 2017.
Lucy, Martha. “Reading the Animal in Degas’s Young Spartans.” Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 2.1 (2003): 1-24.
Martinique, Elena. The Animals Art Has Always Loved. 19 September 2016. January 2018.
