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Documenta 14: Stop using animals as props for contemporary art projects.
Kostas K.
started this petition to
Documenta 14
During the past few years we have seen plenty of examples where animals are being exploited in the name of contemporary art’s desire to push boundaries and create "unique aesthetic experiences". Voices from within the artistic community and from animal activist organisations have criticised these practices as unethical and deeply problematic.
In this context, we were negatively surprised to see a big arts organisation, such as Documenta 14 with an sincere and expressed interest in producing and showcasing socially engaging and politically progressive, to have commissioned two major artworks that do not only feature living animals but, moreover, the put living animals under stressful conditions for the purpose of entertainment.
In the case of “The Transit of Hermes“ a piece devised by Ross Birrell, twelve horses will travel from Athens to Kassel in a 100 days lasting trip. This majorly long and difficult trip (for both geopolitical and actual geographical reasons) will be undertook only in the name of the vanity of megalomaniac curators.
The case of Aboubakar Fofana's collaboration with the Athens school of Agriculture proposes an even more outrageous involvement of living animals into the exhibition. In his commissioned piece, Fofana will use material that has not passed any kind of european regulation in order to paint 54 sheep’s bodies purple. Such an incorporation of a whole herd of animals into an artistic experiment is unheard of in a public art event of this size and for a good reason.
We demand that the Documenta 14 organisation reconsiders the decision to include those two pieces into their public program and take in account concerns coming from animal rights activist and artists who prioritise the wellbeing of animals.
In this context, we were negatively surprised to see a big arts organisation, such as Documenta 14 with an sincere and expressed interest in producing and showcasing socially engaging and politically progressive, to have commissioned two major artworks that do not only feature living animals but, moreover, the put living animals under stressful conditions for the purpose of entertainment.
In the case of “The Transit of Hermes“ a piece devised by Ross Birrell, twelve horses will travel from Athens to Kassel in a 100 days lasting trip. This majorly long and difficult trip (for both geopolitical and actual geographical reasons) will be undertook only in the name of the vanity of megalomaniac curators.
The case of Aboubakar Fofana's collaboration with the Athens school of Agriculture proposes an even more outrageous involvement of living animals into the exhibition. In his commissioned piece, Fofana will use material that has not passed any kind of european regulation in order to paint 54 sheep’s bodies purple. Such an incorporation of a whole herd of animals into an artistic experiment is unheard of in a public art event of this size and for a good reason.
We demand that the Documenta 14 organisation reconsiders the decision to include those two pieces into their public program and take in account concerns coming from animal rights activist and artists who prioritise the wellbeing of animals.
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