ABSTRACT

Elizabeth Sutton, using a phenomenological approach, investigates how animals in art invite viewers to contemplate human relationships to the natural world. Using Rembrandt van Rijn’s etching of The Presentation in the Temple (c. 1640), Joseph Beuys’s social sculpture I Like America and America Likes Me (1974), archaic rock paintings at Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, and examples from contemporary art, this book demonstrates how artists across time and cultures employed animals to draw attention to the sensory experience of the composition and reflect upon the shared sensory awareness of the world.

chapter 1|25 pages

Relational Ethics and Aesthetics

chapter 2|23 pages

Dogged Flesh

Rembrandt’s Presentation in the Temple, c. 1640

chapter 3|23 pages

Glances with Wolves

Encounters with Little John and Joseph Beuys

chapter 4|19 pages

Glimpse into the Unknown

Contemporary Taxidermy and Photography

chapter 5|23 pages

“We Are All Connected”

Experiencing Art and Nature at Horseshoe Canyon

chapter 6|6 pages

Caring for Art and Animals