"Fear of the Familiar" By Sara Putman (04/20/10 15:49:11)
As an artist, this article almost makes me feel guilty for owning a "pet," let alone a dog, since it is seen as an "improper animal." Although the argument against the domestication of animals is understandable, especially from an artists point of view, I couldn't imagine my life without my pets who I've grown so close. I believe that by having them close in my life, they have helped me to better understand and respect our differences, as well as seeing the negative effect of projecting similarities like most humans tend to do. The postmodern artist tends to act against making the non-human more human-like.
However, I do agree that it is our selfish nature that has domesticated the animal (dog and cat) in the first place. We have acquired pets in order to give us company and to fulfill our need to care for, yet control them. After all, according to the text, "pets are creatures of their owner's way of life." Postmodern artists fear what "pets" represent because their individual self-image can be seen in the cynical view that having sympathy for pets leads to a perversion of their natural behavior. Therefore, the representative "natural behavior" and "raw environments" are what makes the artist want to make art in the first place.
| The Postmodern Animal (Book) |
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