History According to Cattle
- Edited by Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
Published on October 1, 2015 by punctum books
- Pages
- 160 pages
- Languages
- English
- Dimensions
- 8.66⤫11.57 in.
- ISBN (Paperback)
- ISBN: 978-952-264-426-8 (Paperback)
- BISAC subject codes
- BISAC: ART006000
- Thema subject codes
- THEMA: AGC, WNF
History According to Cattle is an expanded account of the acclaimed art and research project History of Other’s first major installment, The Museum of the History of Cattle (2013). The exhibition presents a large-scale ethnographic museum of world history as seen from the perspective of cattle, one of the most important companion species of humans. Thus, The Museum of the History of Cattle is the first museum to exhibit the cultural history of a non-human species. In the exhibit, the connections of animal rights issues with violations of human rights become visible while the situations of indigenous cattle populations, the development of genetics, and industrialization are imagined through the eyes of this silent, ever present companion. Both tragic and humorous, The Museum of the History of Cattle portrays humans as a species mesmerized by its own image.
The book-catalog includes a full presentation of the research and visual material of the exhibition, with contextualizing essays by art historian Anne Aurasmaa, philosopher Elisa Aaltola, theorist Kirs Forkasiewizc, and researcher-curator Radhika Subramaniam. Drawing from critical animal studies, animal philosophy, art theory and the lived companionship of humans and cattle, the publication provides a fresh insight into the possibilities of creative imagination, and into the ethical encountering of the species-other in our society.
Contents
Frontmatter (1–1)
Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
Introduction: History According to Cattle (2–3)
Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
History According to Cattle (5–103)
Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
Imagining Non-Human Realities (107–109)
Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
Many Faces of Truth (111–119)
Anne Aurasmaa
From Language of Detachment Toward Expressiveness of Affect (121–129)
Elisa Aaltola
Bad Faith of Zoophobia (131–140)
Kris Forkasiewicz
In Search of the Indian Cow (141–144)
Radhika Subramaniam
Credits (147–153)
Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja
Biographies
Laura Gustafsson is a Finnish author and playwright with an MFA from the Theatre Academy in Finland. In her work Gustafsson often focuses on themes of equality, transgression, animals, and gender. Her writings are strongly political yet equally invested in form and language. Gustafsson’s drama pieces could be described as somewhat Brechtian. She has written a number of plays and a six-episode radio play for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Gustafsson’s first novel Huorasatu (“Whorestory,” 2011) is her genre-bending version of the Bible and the Quran. Her more minimalist Anomalia (“Anomaly,” 2013) handles the questions of violence and empathy as well as language and its limitations. In addition to continuing her work with the History of Others project, Gustafsson is currently writing her third novel about cloning another human species.
Terike Haapoja is an award-winning Finnish visual artist whose work has been exhibited widely in solo and group shows internationally. With a specific focus in encounters with nature, death and other species, Haapoja’s work investigates the existential and political boundaries of our world. The notion of a world that is deeply rooted in the physicality and co-existence of beings and their multiple lifeworlds is at the core of Haapoja’s politically and ethically driven practice. Her other recent projects include Closed Circuit – Open Duration (2008/2013), last seen in the Venice Biennale, which focused on questions of mortality, co-existence and the relationship between humans and nature while adopting scientific technologies, and The Party of Others (2011-ongoing), which looks at the status of other species and groups excluded from the law by appropriating the form of a political party. Haapoja represented Finland in the Venice Biennale in 2013 with a solo show in the Nordic Pavilion.
Additional resources
Accompanying poster
Usage metrics
Genres
- Art+Aesthetics
- Biosphere
- Posthumanism
Keywords
- exhibition catalog
- livestock