Animal Art January 18, 2011

For centuries, the spirit of exploration and discovery, ownership and mastery, prevailed in artists' depictions of animals. During the last decade, however, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of artists working with animals and a distinct change in the prerogatives and methodologies behind their work. Changes in our shared environment, rising rates of extinction, new conceptions of animal rights and genetically informed ideas about the increasingly narrow distinction between the human and animal kingdoms are all issues that have led to the urgency and passion that informs the artists' work in 'Animal Art.'