For many artists, reflection on the human being’s place in a world of animals has been a rich and complex source of exploration. What do these images tell us about non-human beings and those who depicted them? How have visual representations of animals and animality shaped scientific, religious, political, and aesthetic discourses, and how have these discourses informed the way that artists look at and represent other species?

The Department of Art History at Rice University announces its second biennial graduate conference, Ars Animalium, hosted with the support of the Humanities Research Center at Rice University. Ars Animalium explores the roles that animals, notions of animality, and perceptions of the relationship between the human and the non-human play in art. Ars Animalium features two keynote addresses by renowned scholars and presents the work of twelve emerging voices across disciplines. Speakers will discuss the significance of envisioning, exoticizing, imaging, and hybridizing animals in art across the globe from the early modern era to the present day.

 

Download Ars Animalium poster by clicking on the header image.
Download PDF version of Ars Animalium Press Release.