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 A Live Animal
OPENING RECEPTION: July 9, 2011, 7-10pm AN EVENING OF PRESENTATION AND PERFORMANCE @ ODC THEATER: July 19, 7:30-9:30pm, 2011 Curated by Selene Foster and Christopher Reiger EXHIBITION CATALOG NOW AVAILABLE HERE  Exhibition “We are human only in contact, and conviviality, with what is not human." - David Abram On psychic and cellular levels, what exactly occurs when a human interacts with another animal species? Despite our growing knowledge of biology and natural history, the answer remains something of a mystery. The 24 artists participating in A Live Animal consider such interspecific exchange, be it scientific, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. In his landmark essay collection Art As Experience, John Dewey writes “To grasp the sources of aesthetic experience it is [...] necessary to have recourse to animal life below the human scale. [...] The live animal is fully present, all there, in all of its actions: in its wary glances, its sharp sniffings, its abrupt cocking of ears.” Dewey's "live animal" exists in all of us, but is generally unacknowledged or denied. The proliferation of animal imagery in the arts, however, suggests that other species have much to teach us about our own nature. There are those who would have us believe it is possible to exist in an Edenic reality where humans and other species live together in peace. Others would have us come to terms with our predatory nature and embrace our propensity for violence. The truth is more complex than either of those perspectives allow. Nonetheless, both speak to contemporary society’s grappling with the existential question, “How should we conceive of and conduct our relationships with other species, and also with one another?" Surveyed as a whole, the artworks in A Live Animal reflect our inadequate understanding of how best to exist as part of a living, breathing, sensate environment. Individually, however, the works invite us to consider other species through a variety of lenses - mystical, scientific, and philosophical - and to formulate our own approaches to the "animal other." They challenge us to consider the “aesthetic experience” of Dewey's "live animal," one of genuine (if not necessarily sentimental) affinity with all states of being, in light of our current struggle to balance the interests of all parties, be they scaled, furred, feathered, or naked. Artists: Brandon Ballengee, Jeremiah Barber*, Joianne Bittle, Bethany Carlson, Karl Cronin, Donald Farnsworth, Todd Forsgren, Dana Harel, Nicole Jean Hill, Michael Kerbow, Anne Klint, Maria Lux, Jon Rappleye, Shelley Reed, Steven Rubin, Susan Silas, Deborah Simon, Sarah A. Smith, Kate Stirr*, Youngsuk Suh, Ryan Thompson, James Wendell, Gail Wight, and work from the Endangered Species Print Project *Root Division Resident Artist
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 9, 7 to 10 pm
Exhibition Dates: July 7 - 30, 2011 Gallery Hours: Wednesdays - Saturdays, 2-6 pm (or by appointment)
An Evening of Presentation and Performances @ ODC Theater
July 19, 2011, 7:30-9:30PM Suggested donation
Chris Black: "Extinction Burst (last dance, last chance): A reanimation of lost movement" Karl Cronin: "Kinetic Empathy" Jeremiah Jenkins: "The Hunt" Georgeann O'Brien, Ph.D.: "Direct observation of sensory neuron regeneration in live zebrafish" Brian Null, Ph.D., "Examination of Animals, Examination of Self" Christopher Reiger: "Introducing the Endangered Spcies Print Project" Jon Sack, Ph.D.: "Bioelectric Venom" Gail Wight: "Animal Animosity" Philip Ross: "Eating Bugs for Fun and For Profit" Sponsored By:
ROOT DIVISION GALLERY ABOUT ROOT DIVISION: Root Division is an arts & arts education non-profit located in the Mission District of San Francisco. Root Division's mission is to improve appreciation and access to the visual arts by connecting personal inspiration and community participation. We provide subsidized studio space to working artists in exchange for their service in creating shared learning opportunities for the community. Artists develop creatively and professionally by teaching art to underserved youth, leading adult education classes, and producing exhibitions that showcase local emerging artwork. By combining multiple opportunities for creative exchange, Root Division cultivates an artistic ecosystem that enriches life throughout the Bay Area. Root Division is supported in part by grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant / Organizational Project Grant, Grants for the Arts: San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, and the Fleishhacker Foundation. For further information regarding events and/or press materials, please do not hesitate to contact Dana Hemenway at 415.863.7668 or events@rootdivision.org.
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