Animals
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Animals are outside today.
by Colleen Plumb
In 1928, Henry Beston stated regarding animals in his book, The Outermost House: “They are not brethren,
they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow
prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.” Animals Are Outside Today is a journey examining
underneath this net, offering us the chance to contemplate our intersections with animals and consider the
multi-layered impact humans have on other living beings.
Contradictions define our relationships with animals. We love and admire them; we are entertained and
fascinated by them; we take our children to watch and learn about them. Animals are embedded within core
human history—evident in our stories, rituals and symbols. At the same time, we eat, wear and cage them
with seeming indifference, consuming them, and their images, in countless ways.
Our connection to animals today is often developed through assimilation and appropriation; we absorb them
into our lives, yet we no longer know of their origin. Most people are cut off from the steps involved in their
processing or acquisition, shielded from witnessing their death or decay. This series moves within these
contradictions, always questioning if the notion of the sacred, and the primal connection to Nature that
animals convey and inspire, will survive alongside our evolution.
Albrecht and Corwin-canyon deer. 2000.
Amish horses. 1999.
Mouse with fly. 2005.
Bird on stairs. 2004.
Bone in ham and eggs. 1997.
Burying Jack. 2009.
Carriage horse. 2005.
Cavallino. 2008.
Central Park zoo. 2009.
Circus elephant. 2006.
Pig roast. 2005.
Snake with kids. 2000.
Euthanized. 2009.
Flamingo. 2000.
Geese with lights. 1999.
Horseback. 1999.
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Jarrod with alligator head. 2010.
Nungessa elephant. 2010.