Pet: Algae Bacteria Ball Python Bird Cat Chicken Cow Deer Dog Ducks (Not Mallard) Ferret Fish Frog Goat Ground Squirrel Hamster Horse Kitten Mallard Duck Mule Deer Ocelot Parakeet Parrot Pig Pond Life Pot Belly Pig Pot-Bellied Pig Quail Rabbit Rooster Snake Squirrel Turtle Unidentified Bird
I am interested in interspecies collaboration because I think that the idea of creating art with animals through collaboration is an interesting new field to explore with many possibilities that await. I have spent so much time around animals through out my life. I grew up on a ranch and started competing in rodeos when I was four years old, so I have been coordinating/collaborating with ranch animals, especially horses for many years. Performing events with horses such as rodeo events like barrel racing and pole bending is an interspecies collaboration that takes much time and dedication on both the part of the human and the animal, it is essentially a choreography where you learn to work together. The idea of interspecies collaboration in this sense has expanded my idea, however, on the possibilities of actually creating art with animals, aside from the choreography between a human and a horse, for example.
Interspecies collaboration also interests me because I have always been exposed to many various animals in general, whether they be pets, friends of the area, or those that I have visited in places like national parks and zoos. I am interested in the interactions of different animals amongst groups like themselves, different animals, and humans. Every time I have come across a different sort of animal, I have always noticed those interactions, which are all different. For example, my family has experienced the birth of several different litters of cats over the years. After the birth of the kittens, it is very interesting to see how the mother cat cares for and nurtures the kittens. The cats become a family of their own living within the household of a human family and their interactions change with humans and other household pets. Mother cats tend to want the humans that they already trust to be involved in their new family. They encourage love and support from the humans around them and find ways to show humans their thankfulness for a comfy environment through their body language and increase in "verbalness." Mother cats become incredible more "verbal" after they give birth because that is how they communicate with their kittens, yet they also begin to apply it towards their interactions with humans. On the other hand, the opposite attitude of mother cats tends to be true for other household pets. Even though they may have been pals before, other household animals including other cats, become a mother cat's worst enemy after her kittens are born. It is interesting to notice how all of these interactions take place very naturally through out different litters of mother cats and their kittens, within a home. The mother cat's behavior also changes as she realizes that she has more responsibility on her plate and her actions very much reflect the human mother. Just by observing interactions of/with animals like the cat family, possibilities for interspecies collaboration within an artistic practice make more sense. I feel like if I am able to easily infer what my cat is telling me through her/his body language and "verbalness," then collaboration is certainly possible...or maybe I'm just crazy and making all of these conclusions up from my inferences, hah?