Who me? That’s
who! This will be a Solow project focusing on informing zoo goers of the
material history and symbolic significance of animal products and applications
relatable to the animals viewed at the Lincoln Park zoo and then some. The
history of how or why animals have become endangered or extinct will be explained.
Informing the public that the disappearance of animals is not solely linked to
habitat loss and or pollution but through hunting for food and esthetics. This
zine will illustrate trends in western culture focusing on the demands of certain
animal products, such as fur, hide, bone, feathers, organs and other animal properties
in different time periods. The zines themselves will be made of harvested
traffic cone rubber; witch in turn simulates hide or some sort of flesh. Further
addressing the concept of abundance, rarity, demand and conservation. The pages
will be silk screened or stamped. The zines will be places at the site of the exhibit
corresponding to the animal and maybe a few related examples. Hopefully leaving
the zoo gores with a more realistic insight to animal extinction. The cover
will be some sort of lament and have the zoos logo on it… or not? I will do
some test to see how people respond to different materials.
REF:
Ancient Skins, Parchments
and Leathers by R. Reed,
American Plastic: A Cultural History by Jeffrey l.
Meikle
Fashion Resource Center-SAIC
Even though I still wish to do the project I first proposed, I am now realizing the extreme ambition. As a second idea that would evolve a much less labor intensive proses yet still following my overall concept. I would like to make charts of animal skin, fur and there history’s in the form of temporary tattoos. Both children and adults engage in putting on temporary tattoos. Using flesh as a vehicle for information the tattoo could inform people outside of the zoo context, promoting personal education and conservation. I would out source the production of the tattoos to a small temp tattoo company and get 50-100 tattoos to distribute in the park. like a super secret zoo employee!!
I will know focus on making the tattoos primarily and a zine in a smaller scale.
I think the tattoo idea could be really interesting, and certainly have mass appeal/popularity as an item in general. But I am wondering how much of the history about fur and hide use by humans you can fit on a temporary tattoo?? Also, will it have the kind of design such that people will actually want to wear them? (if it is mainly text, then likely not. But if there isn't enough text, how do you convey the information? And how do you keep it small enough to apply on a hand arm, or leg?)
ReplyDeleteThe next question would be which animals you will choose for this purpose. It would seem tigers make sense, although I don't know enough to say in fact which animals at the zoo have been so heavily hunted especially for there skin or fur? So that seems like crucial content research you need to have settled before going forward as well. Let me know which animals you are thinking of focusing on.