John Berger: Why Look at Animals?

A Zoo is a place where as many species and varieties as possible are collected in order that they can be seen, observed, studied. In principle, each cage is a frame round the animal inside it. Visitors visit the zoo to look at animal. They proceed from cage to cage, not unlike visitors in an art gallery who stop in front of one painting, and then move on to the next or the one after the next.

- John Berger Why look at Animals? (1980)

Writer and art critic John Berger's text Why look at Animals? has been useful for providing some more context around animal and human relationships. The section quoted above directly compares zoos and the containment of animals to the framing of paintings in an art gallery. I found this comparison an interesting cross over of environments and his writing on the issues with zoos and the 'framing' of animals has helped informed a direction change in my work. After a tutorial I decided to focus my work on animal form with space and containment. Berger's critical view of zoos and containment of animals is an interesting welfare related reference for my work.