Art Making as an Ecofeminist Exercise in Understanding Species Extinction and Animal Farming
We are currently in the midst of a mass species extinction, the sixth that our planet has experienced, but completely unique in it’s cause—human activity. As entire species die out, domesticated farm animals remain safe from this fate by our choice to raise them in mass quantities for meat. In both cases, however, individual lives are suffering.
My goal with this series is to synthesis factual information about species extinction and farming and the individuals these systems involve. Using repetitive and labor-intensive processes, I created representational pieces depicting various species that I felt most clearly signified these systems. The process and use of several different mediums are employed to better understand and empathize with the lives of individual non-human animals.
Adrian Rowan '16
Advisor: Walter Zurko
Advisor: Walter Zurko
All images copyright © 2016 Adrian Rowan . All rights reserved.
One Bluefin Tuna Skeleton. Wood, wire, porch screen. 2" x 6"x 6”. 2016.
Drawings of Farm Pigs, Erased and Redrawn Over and Over Again. Graphite remnants, tape 10” x 8". 2016.
Partial Skeletal Representations of the Extinct Bird, Passenger Pigeon. Wood, wire, porch screen. 55 birds. 2016.
Partial Skeletal Representations of the Extinct Bird, Passenger Pigeon, detail. 15” x 10”. 2016.
Slow Disappearance of the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog. Hard ground and aquatint. 38” x 62”. 2016.
Slow Disappearance of the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, detail. 2016.