Human/Animal Bond
Posted in Notes on June 19th, 2008The archetypal motif of man and beast reappears throughout art history and in many different cultures. The human/animal bond is deep and instinctive – we are interdependent for survival and companionship. Studies have shown definite physiological health benefits may result from pet ownership. Yet we have a tendency to anthropomorphise our pets – to project onto them our own way of seeing, and being, in the world. Art may, ‘… capture the truth of things’ (Sakendo in a preface to work by Hokasai) and this truth shows the ‘otherness’ of animals – that they look out at the world with a distinct, unique and separate perspective.