Art, Animals, and Experience

Elizabeth Sutton is Associate Professor at the University of Northern Iowa.

"This book asks readers to take another look at the ways in which animals are represented in art and, in so doing, raises some important ethical and aesthetic considerations." – J. Keri Cronin, Brock University"Phenomenology has taught us much about how artworks trigger our perceptual capacities, but its ability to teach us about the possible ethical relationships between viewer and artwork has been less explored. In this original and thought-provoking study, Sutton explores such a possibility through the framework of the representation of dogs in art. Through such exploration, Sutton shows that our empathy with animals—and their empathy with us—has much to tell us about our empathy with artworks."- Matthew Bowman, University of Suffolk

• Table of ContentsChapter 1. Relational Ethics and AestheticsBeing and Thinking With Art and AnimalsBetween Presence and Absence An Ethical Art HistoryChapter 2. Dogged Flesh: Rembrandt’s Presentation in the Temple, c. 1640 Real and Represented DogsRembrandt’s Three R’s: Radical, Reflective, RevelatoryThe Rhetoric of EtchingFleshly Experience Past Made PresentChapter 3. Glances with Wolves: Encounters with Little John and Joseph Beuys Entangled EncountersSeeing and Being with Little JohnPresencing Other WorldsImaginative EmpathyGathering Together in the GapChapter 4. Glimpses into the Unknown: Contemporary Taxidermy and Photography Spaces Between: Yellow and Taza Respecting UnknownsDominance, Submission, and Freedom: Inert and Progression of Regression Death and the Object (Ars longa vita brevis EST)From Hierarchy to HorizontalityChapter 5. "We Are All Connected": Experiencing Art and Nature at Horseshoe Canyon Guided by Dogs and Children"We Are All Connected"Dwelling with Dogs and Earth Accessing Histories with Attentive CareArt and Earth as Places of EmergenceChapter 6. Caring for Art and Animals