martynamic

[martynamic]

Steve Baker

Art and animal rights – passage from the book “Artist/animal”

In this passage of the book author talks about artists influence on the animal rights and how it’s portrayed.  He looks at artists who made artwork based on animal rights and animal abuse. One of the artist works that S. Baker looks at and the one that interested me is series of photographs called “We will never know” by Britta Jaschinski. These series of photographs looks different from what we are used to see. There is not much detail in the photograph and the view itself is quite distorted, all that is possible to figure out in the image is animal species, which is the point. Author mentions that pictures were meant to show the view from the perspective of the animal. “We never really look at animals, we look at animals the way we choose to look at animals” (Steve Baker, (2013), Artist/Animal, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, p. 160). This makes me think of how people actually perceive animals and if the way person sees an animal affects how one treats the animal. Looking at my project about river pollution and struggling otters, I wonder if most people don’t care about otters or is not familiar with the issues that otters are facing nowadays, because they never even seen an otter in real life. What kind of image does otter have in a mind of a person who has never seen an otter? But in my opinion that should not mean that one have a right to not care about issues that this animal or any other animal faces. Author of the images also mentions that they wanted people to think about what could be done about the issues that animals face. “The more information an image has, the less interesting it is for me” (Steve Baker, (2013), Artist/Animal, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, p. 162). That is why artist wanted to make her photographs unique, something not seen before or something people are not used to see. Author also tries to not glamourize the wildlife. Author of the book mentions how image that is harder to understand and is more challenging to look at is actually more interesting for the viewer. It shows a world that viewer is not familiar with and that’s why they want to get to know it, get to know the animals they are looking at which could result into willingness to help these animals.

[martynamic]

Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse

Journal article by Karen Victoria Lykke Syse

In the beginning, author of this article mentions the importance of the otters: “The otter is a top predator demanding clean water to survive and has thus become an important biological indicator of the purity and health of water and wetland ecosystems” (Karen Victoria Lykke Syse, (2013), Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse, Landscape research, 38:4, p. 540). This shows how important otters are for the environment and people at the same time, thus they need to be protected. Interesting part of this article is authors experience in a village of Scotland called Mid-Argyll. And it is surprising how important otters were for the locals. “Almost every day, the local otters would somehow be referred to” (Karen Victoria Lykke Syse, (2013), Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse, Landscape research, 38:4, p. 541). This animal was getting a lot of attention even though there was more animal species around the area. A lot of conversations were about otters. One of the reasons why otters were so important in this village is because a lot of people there made living from art and tourism that specifically was focused around otters. There were artists who made paintings of otters and even a filmmakers who made films about otters in that area. Locals did not take seeing otters for granted, it was something special for them. Most of the villagers had read books like “Tarka the otter” and “Ring of bright water” which is another evidence of how important otters are for them. This shows that otters are not completely forgotten or disrespected and that they have a deep connection with people in some areas.

Figuring out why otters are of such importance in the village, author refers to G. Maxwell (author of “Ring of bright water) and his thoughts of how people can relate to otters and similarities between both. “Although the otter is an animal, its behaviour and usage of tools can be associated with human beings” (Karen Victoria Lykke Syse, (2013), Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse, Landscape research, 38:4, p. 545). This goes beyond of just admiring otters to actually comparing otters with people in a certain ways. “Ring of bright water” brought out the public awareness about decline of the otters in Britain. This made people think a little more about these animals and a need to protect them.

It seems to me that although it might look like otters and their part in different cultures is forgotten, there are places where bond between otters and people is still strong. Author describes otter as someone who needs care like the nature itself comparing otter to the wildlife as a whole which we are part of as well.

[martynamic]

Ring of bright water – movie

Ring of Bright Water is a movie based on a book with a same name by Gavin Maxwell published in 1960. Book itself is quite biographical since author himself lived with otters and raised them. In a movie the main character takes a playful otter from a pet shop, but life in the city is not suitable for an otter because, as it is usual for the otter, they are quite energetic and adventurous. Main character is asked to leave their flat because of otter’s destructive nature. This turn of the story is quite interesting because human leaves their life in a city and moves to a completely different place, thus their life is changed because of the otter. Movie “Ring of bright water” is a much different story from what I have been looking at before. In this story a human is not an enemy of the otter, but a friend. This shows how a connection between an otter and a human is possible and achievable. Also role of a human in this story is not to destroy the life of the otter like we see in the most of stories about otters and people who hunt them, but to change the life of the otter in a better way. Although at the end we come back to the same brutal human nature when the otter is killed by a road-mender. But although otter is killed by one human we can see that other people can accept otters without willing to harm them. At the end life of the main character is completely changed because of the otter and because of this journey they write a book in the memory of their beloved pet otter.

[martynamic]

Process of the campaign project - animation

[martynamic]

Little Joe Otter

by Thornton W. Burgess

Illustration by Harrison Cady

 Little Joe otter is a children book written in 1925 which teaches kids life lessons through a life of the otter. Otter Joe in the book is described as adventurous, but a shy otter who do not like to be near strangers. This brings back the usual image that otters had in most of books, movies and even cultures – adventurous, fierce and mystical, hard to get close to. When Joe the otter starts to raise his children the book describes how he and his wife teach their children about the dangers in the wild which is wild animals and, like in most stories, people. Joe the otter is also represented as a very vise animal: "There’s always someone setting traps while honest folk are taking naps." ~ Little Joe Otter. (Thornton W. Burgess, (1925), Little Joe otter, United states of America: New York). This is just one of his quotes throughout the book. So besides other personality traits otter in the book is also considered to be animal who could give advice. Illustrations in the book are done by Harrison Cady. Drawings in the book looks quite charming and not too cartoony although animals are wearing clothes. Overall it looks like a great example of anthropomorphism which gives otters a unique personality.  

 Bibliography:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/65314/65314-h/65314-h.htm

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1384953.The_Adventures_of_Little_Joe_Otter

[martynamic]

Tarka the otter

Tarka the otter – film

“Tarka the otter” is movie made in 1978 and based on a Henry Williamson's book with the same name. This story is about the life of the otter from its birth.

Story of Tarka the otter was made by author exploring life of the otters and documenting everything about it in village of Devon. “Today, Tarka can be viewed with nostalgia for wildlife or country scenes we’d now consider rare or special” (Countryfile, (2012), Countryfile – magazine explore the British countryside). Author of the article mentions that story can be viewed with nostalgia because nowadays otters are in decline due to river pollution and other dangers caused by people. Tarka the otter does not hesitate to show the true side of nature which can be brutal and cruel. But dangers that Tarka the otter faces are caused more by nature rather than people. Which shows the change between life of the otters before and life of the otters now and how much negative impact people have caused in the life of the otters. The danger of being hunted by people shifts to more in-depth problems like river pollution and lack of food due to that. Although human stays as one of the most dangerous enemies of the otter. Movie shows how otter already has a hard life because of hunters, so how hard it actually is for otters to survive now? This is what I’ll try to show in my short animation. The difficulties of surviving in the modern world where nature is being destroyed.

Movie itself reminds of the documentary, a wildlife film. Author of the story portrays otters as adventurous and playfull, but also ready to fight till the end. This fierce nature of the otter is shown in this story where Tarka the otter dies to a hunting dog, but Tarka manages to kill the dog as well.

Tarka the otter film (1978)

Bibliography: https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/in-praise-of-tarka-the-otter/

https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/tarka-the-otter-1979/tarka-the-otter-1979.html

[martynamic]

Review - Watership down

Watership down – animated movie

1978 Movie “Watership down” based on a book written by Richard Adams is one of the most disturbing movies that was meant for kids. It shows a lot of brutal violence, death and blood. When movie released a lot of people questioned the need of such brutality in a children movie. In The Week magazine it was called a “folk tale about the cycle of life and death”. And that “Every child should have at least one traumatic memory of formative TV viewing; the thing that sets them thinking about death, or the suffering of others” (Talking points, 2016, The Week, London – England, Bath: Future Publishing ltd., news 21). It seems to me that Watership down was meant to shock the audience in order for them to realize the situation in which a lot of animals are in. And by this shocking experience, children could realize the terrible fate of wild animals, hard circumstances they are in and need to fight for survival every day. The best way to make audience think and consider about the specific subject is by shocking them. Since my project is about suffering animals as well I have decided to apply this to my short animation by not sugar-coating the whole situation and show it the way it is, which is disturbing and tragic.

I have also chosen to read through a review about Watership down written by Remi Dean. He states that Watership down could be based on the authors experience about WWII so therefore we can see a theme of politics, government and society in this story. He mentions that one of the movie strengths could actually be the brutality of it and shocking response caused by it “Even at the first few screenings, some parents were already complaining about the dark and violent scenes” (Remy Dean, (2018), Frame rated). So the violence in this movie could be a big part of its success since it had a huge response to it by viewers.

Another review that I looked at is by Tasha Robinson. She mentions that although Watership down look like a children story at first it becomes a darker story later on. “Sophisticated world of naturalistic animation, brought to life with all the realism he and his team could manage”. (Tasha Robinson, (2015), The Dissolve). This is another interesting factor of Watership down because animation in that time was more stylized to portray emotions better, but in Watership down there was more realism. It was most likely because director wanted to tell the story the best they possibly could even if it looked brutal. That’s the reason I chose a more realistic approach in making characters in my animation as well. More realism makes it more relatable and engaging. “The film version in no ways compromises the seriousness and threat of living in a vast world of predators and unknowns”, “The Watership Down crew went beyond Disney in trying to ground their film in reality”. (Tasha Robinson, (2015), The Dissolve). It occurs to me that apart from recreating the feeling of realism in the style of the animation it also shows it by embracing blood, death and violence in animal world.

Bibliography:

https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1398-watership-down/

https://www.framerated.co.uk/watership-down-1978/

[martynamic]

written response

Daniel Allen

Otter

Focusing mostly on chapters “Folklore, Fables, Tradition and the otter” and ”The literary otter” I have gained a lot of information about how otters been treated since the beginning of time. Apparently otter was present in lots of countries and traditions.

Since in some countries otter was valued as the most precious animal of all, appeared in religions and cultures centuries ago and was even feared by people in some countries it is strange to find that these days otter is not a very popular animal or an animal that people would find important in their culture. In fact otter was even valued as a sacred spirit. It is most likely that respect for otters dropped when they started to be considered as vermin’s in Britain which started the hunting of the otters. But since otter was still thought to be animal with magical powers it was even more hunted thinking that one can acquire that certain power by killing the otter and performing a specific ritual. “Similarly it was thought that a person could gain the power to cure burns simply by licking the liver of a freshly killed otter” (Daniel Allen (2010), ‘Otter’, Great Sutton Street London : Reaktion bookspage, p. 44-45). These hunts have broken the sacred image that was build up for the otter centuries ago and turned it into another animal that exists only to satisfy human needs. But since people stopped believing in such things as magical otters later on, the otter became just a regular animal. These days in countries like Bangladesh otters are used for fishing or even kept as pets in countries like Japan. This shows how otters from mystical, magical creatures became domesticated pets in some areas.

Otters were also well known in literature starting from a 1901 folk tale “Who killed otter’s babies?”. Otter popularity in literature can be called quite recent - “Its presence in children’s literature, nature writing and biographical stories grew as the twentieth century progressed” (page 91). In most stories the otter was depicted quite similarly and kept its mysticism and mystery from the old times, which shows that the true roots of how otter was seen is not completely lost yet. In most books otter is pictured as a quiet animal who likes to keep distance from other animals and only trust its family which means they are seen as mysterious and unsociable. But apart from that otter is shown as a fierce animal with a fighting spirit. Author like Grahame also shows the adventurous and elusive side of the otter. But although otters appeared in literature as well they did not became a popular animal and nowadays people don’t really know the true characteristics of the otter because the initial connection between people and otters was already lost long time ago.

[martynamic]

Reading

Daniel Allen

“Otter”

Daniel Allen book “Otter” is a thorough research about otters, their lifestyle, appearance, depiction in folklore, books and movies, also history of otter hunting. I have mostly focused on chapter “Folklore, Fables, Tradition and the otter” and ”The literary otter” since it’s connected to my project the most.

Chapter “Folklore, Fables, Tradition and the otter” talks about how otter have been depicted in mythology and folklore in ancient past around the world.  Author states that relationship between people and otters started developing centuries ago. Symbolism of this animal have been shaped all across the world in different ways. Otter appears in some religions as well. For example in Persia this animal was the most valued animal of all.  Zoroastrian people considered killing the otter as a crime against their god and nature and for that person was punished. In Christianity otter is associated with two patron saints – St. Kevin and St. Cuthbert.

St. Cuthbert

Petroglyphs in southern Sweden dating back to 1000 BC. Were found in Kivik, featuring Stylized animals which appear to represent captive otters.

For aboriginal people in Japan called Ainu, otter played an important role in story of creation. In Southeast Asia otter appeared in many fables one of which is – “Who killed Otter’s Babbies’”. In traditions of Native America otter was feared by some nations, but highly respected by others.  Since otters like to stay in tree roots, they became known as the root people or as natives called them – Kuschtas. “The Kuschtas were cunning tricksters who could transform into human form at will. They were feared as they freely capsized boats and kidnapped near-drowned people” (Daniel Allen (2010), ‘Otter’, Great Sutton Street London : Reaktion books, p. 34-35).  Since otters were believed to have a power to charm and transform they became totems of shamans. This animal was also said to have healing powers, so it was valued as a sacred spirit.

‘Who killed Otter’s babies’, illustration from Walter Skeat’s Fables and folk tales from an Eastern Forest, 1901.

A Tlingit shaman’s wooden mask of a man in the process of transforming into an otter.

Eskimo mask in the form of an otter

Alongside appearing in myths, otter was considered as a fish-killer. Because of that later in Britain the monarchy organized the killing of otters to protect valuable fish stocks. Later otter was even reclassified as a vermin. In some parts of the world small pockets of fishermen appreciated otters fishing talent and trained this animal to assist them. Although fishing with otters can be tracked back to the sixth century in South-West China. Some folkloric tales have led to the killing of the otters as well. There were stories which said that otters have a magical stone in their body which allows them to swim so well. It was said that this power transfers to anyone who possesses the stone. This led to many killings of otters. Body parts of this animal was also very valued since it said to have medical powers. “Similarly it was thought that a person could gain the power to cure burns simply by licking the liver of a freshly killed otter” (page 44-45). In Asia and Africa that kind of methods are still used.

Otter hunt in 15th-century France. From Gaston Phoebus’ Book of the hunt.

 Next chapter that I was interested in is “The literary otter” which talks about appearance of the otter in literature. Only until recent years the otter rarely featured in popular literature. There was a few authors who were inspired by this animal. “Its presence in children’s literature, nature writing and biographical stories grew as the twentieth century progressed” (page 91).Kenneth Grahame introduced otter in children literature in 1908 novel “The wind in the willows”. Animals in the book were anthropomorphized with some natural characteristics. Otter is pictured as a character with fighting spirit. Grahame associated otters with family, mysticism and mystery. Thornton W. Burgess also used otters in stories for kids. He also shows otters as mysterious and unsociable. Then popular story about Tarka the Otter, written by Henry Williamson came out in 1927. “With this dramatic and saddening climax Williamson not only comments in the harshness of life and nature, but also positions Tarka as a brave and heroic figure” (page 98). Authors’ depictions of an otter were based on his otters hunting experience. Overall book shows otters life journey with describing how otter swims, hunts for food, interacts with other otters and fights for survival. This book was awarded the Hawthornden Prize and was enjoyed by readers across the world. Similar book was published in North America called – “An otter’s Story” written by J.A. Davis.

 Little Joe otter and family

Cover of “Tarka The Otter” by Henry Williamson, 1951 edition.

Another chapter of the book called “The otter on screen” talks about otters in television. In 1957 Walt Disney wanted to make an adaptation of “Tarka the Otter”, but author declined. On 1961 the television film called “Flash, the Teen-age otter” was aired which was deeply based on the book “An otter’s story”. But film based on the book called “Ring of Bright Water” was the one that gave otters a debut in screen of the cinema.

Cover of “Samaki”, by J.A. Davis, 1979.

I quite enjoyed reading this book since there was not many things that I knew about otters and especially their appearance in folklore and literature. It will be really helpful for my project since I found out how otters were depicted and seen by people. How otter’s personality traits were developed since ancient times and adapted to more recent pieces of literature and film. I believe that finding out more details about these animals will help me make characters in my animation more believable and with more personality.

[martynamic]

reading #2

Daniel Allen 

“Otter”

Although rarely seen in the wild, the otter is admired for its playful character and graceful aquatic agility, which were established in the popular imagination through books and films. They are also present in folklore and tales. This, however, is just a small part of their story – throughout history the otter has also been widely hunted for its fur and to prevent it from killing fish. Today the thirteen species of otter face a range of growing challenges, and their survival is by no means certain.

[martynamic]

THE OTTERS CAMPAIGN

SCRIPT

EXT. FOREST

Start with rustling sounds heard from two otters who are trying to get the camera working. Screen goes on and off from completely black to moving images of the forest. As otters are struggling with the camera…

MAIN OTTER:

         Keep it still!

As camera goes to sides a few more times it evens out and we can see clearer image of a MAIN OTTER close to the screen.

MAIN OTTER:

         Is it working?

Camera pans away from the otter as they move further to the background. Main otter is fully seen on screen. They climb up on the big rock and starts talking with its little paws moving around as they do.

MAIN OTTER:

This is to all people out there who think that they can just ruin our lives and get away with it without consequences. We decided to create our own campaign so that it would be easier for you people to understand. We are ready to do anything to save our species! Do you know that all of your trash and nasty chemicals that you dumb in the river doesn’t disappear? It all accumulates here and ruin our lives! We’ll prove you that we , the otters, need help. Here I’ll show you.

Main otter moves closer to the camera as the camera moves and we cut to black. Sounds of walking through leaves and grass are heard. Then camera turns back on to reveal…

EXT. RIVER

Background of a narrow river with otters swimming in it and walking on the shore or on rocks. Main otter moves on screen and points at the river.

MAIN OTTER:

Our river, our home supposed to be so much bigger, but because of dam construction and drainage of wetlands that you people are responsible for, our river might completely disappear. But rivers getting smaller is by far not the only problem.

Main otter moves further to the river and disappears behind the rocks. Camera follows it. We cut to black with footsteps heard in the background. Then camera turns on again with a closer view to the river with main otter on the shore looking at the camera. Camera pans closer to the otter and river. There’s a lot of different kinds of trash on the shore and in water. Main otter pulls out a plastic bottle.

MAIN OTTER:

Look at this! River is full of trash dumped by people! Do you know what plastic does to our river? It depletes dissolved oxygen in the water. And because of all of that there’s less fish  of which mainly eels and salmonids, our main source of life! Every year there’s less fish because of how polluted the water is. But let me show you how it really is…

EXT. UNDER WATER

Cut to otters swimming under water with all the trash in the way. As camera is swimming showing otters…

MAIN OTTER

And that’s how we suppose to live every day.

As big bottle blocks the screen we cut to…

EXT. NEAR THE OTTERS NEST

Family of otters with mom otter, holing one of her little children, vide on screen with her little children otters in the back near their nest.

MOM OTTER (in a worried voice):

It’s hard to feed all of my babies since there’s much more otters living around. I don’t know if there will be enough fish for everyone in the future especially if river will still be dirty like that.

MAIN OTTER O.C

So as you can see, it is not easy for everyone.

Cut to the river bank, camera pans closer to water where an otter comes out of the water on shore. Their fur is all dirty with black substance (oil). As camera is kept observing the otter…

 EXT. NEAR THE RIVER

MAIN OTTER O.C

Although rubbish in water cause a lot of trouble it’s not the only way you people pollute our water. There’s oils and chemicals appearing in water as well.

Camera cuts to black then cut back to show an otter who just came out of water all dirty.

DIRTY OTTER:

This is nonsense! Water is no place for dumbing all of this nasty waste in! Do people realize that they use this water too? We are not the only ones affected by this. They will poison us and then themselves!

 Then cut to very ill looking otter

 EXT.  ON THE ROCKS

ILL OTTER:

Water is nowhere near to how it should be. I’m not even 3 years old, but I already feel like an old otter. This poisoned water completely ruined me. And it’s not only me there’s lots of otters who struggle from the same fate.

Cut to black. Then camera turns on following the main otter from the back along the river bank.

EXT. RIVER BANK

MAIN OTTER:

So you see, the water is so polluted that almost every otter gets a disease from it and dies at an early age. And we can’t do anything about it. See for yourself…

Camera cuts to black then cut to the shore where river ends. Camera pans closer to the several dead bodies of otters laying on the ground, there’s pieces of rubbish around it as well. As we move through this scene…

MAIN OTTER O.C.

As you can see because of your rubbish that you dumb into our water without thinking many otters lose their lives. And most of the time very, very early. Most of us can’t even survive 5 years when normally we should live for about 15.

Cut to different background with similar view. Main otter is on screen as well.

MAIN OTTER

I’m sure that there’s different ways of getting rid of the waste that humans can use without harming the environment and ruining our lives. The worst thing is that you people do this without thinking and knowing of what you actually do to the lives of other species. By poisoning water you not only ruin only our lives, but also your own since we all need water to survive.

Rustling sound is heard coming from the background. Main otter reacts with quick head movement towards the sound. Camera moves to that side as well showing some bushes.

MAIN OTTER O.C.

What was that?!

As sound is becoming louder. Then camera is dropped with screen tilted on side. We see two otters giving last glance to the direction that sound is coming from.

MAIN OTTER:

Run!

Then two otters quickly runs away as camera view gets distorted and then cuts to black.

THE END

[martynamic]

Reading

Silent spring by Rachel Carson

Passage from the book Silent spring

Silent spring is an environmental science book.

Carson's book led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, provided inspiration and direction for the environmental movement.

The book talks about environmental effects caused by the use of pesticides and chemicals in nature. I chose passage 9 called rivers of death since it talks about poisoning rivers which is basically the theme of my project. It not only talks about how polluted with chemicals the rivers can be, but also how it affects wildlife in water and near it.

The passage mainly describes fish (mostly salmon) that was affected by the spraying of chemicals. Most of the fishes who were meant to reach the sea after hatching died because of chemicals and lack of food due to it. People who decided to spray chemicals were careless and did not try to protect the environment, did not look for alternatives. They even said that the amount of chemicals were harmless for the wildlife, but a lot of species of fish, bugs and other animals were dying or getting really ill because of continuous use of these chemicals.

I have chosen this text mainly because of how author decided to describe the problem that she was writing about. The passage feels very much like it’s written in a format of a story although author adds a lot of scientific information as well. Because of the way she makes the story dramatic it is more immersive and interesting to read it.

Since this passage talks about suffering animals who live in rivers I figured it is relevant to my project since I’m working on issues that otters face due to polluted river. And some issues have been quite similar which is: lack of food, illnesses and death of these animals. It talks about how people are destroying animal species and areas in the wild for their own needs without thinking about the consequences.

A reprint of “Silent Spring,��� a 1962 article series by Rachel Carson about the impact of chemicals on the environment.

Illustrations by Emiliano Ponzi

[martynamic]

relevant artwork

Animated movie “Watership down” 1978

“Watership down” animated movie was based on a book with the same name written in 1972 by  English author Richard Adams.

Watership Down is the tale of a group of rabbits in search of a home. Fiver, a young rabbit with a gift: He can tell when things are going to happen and he can sense whether they will be good or bad. Fiver foresees great danger that is waiting for the rabbits.

Although it looks like the movie is aimed at children the story itself is quite haunting especially in a form of an animated movie. It does not hesitate to show blood, death of animals, and brutality of nature. It reveals the true life of animals and how they fight for survival every day.

Although people tried to find deeper meaning to this book the daughter of the author said that author himself stated that he "didn't like the way people babied children, lying to them about death and so on. We're destroying the environment and endangering all the animals — I think it would be strange to ignore that." (Lauren Sharley (2018), Bustle, “The true meaning of ‘Watership down’). So it occurs to me that  author wanted to show that animals in the wild have to not only survive hiding from other animals, but also avoid people in order to survive.

The idea of this story connects to my project because of how animals are affected by people and how they lives depend on things that people do. How animals get killed because of recklessness of humans.  Artistic style of the movie feels something very close to what I want to do in project. Not only because of talking animals and anthropomorphism, but also because of the art style where animals are not too stylized and are put in the more or less realistically looking world. Also I want to try and show the dark side of how animals live in wilderness and how their lives are destroyed because of people. 

Bibliography:

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-the-real-meaning-of-watership-down-there-are-a-lot-of-theories-about-the-story-15534686

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/watership/summary/

[martynamic]

Campaign idea

I decided to do my project around nature and perhaps a little bit about identity as well. I’m going to do my project around destroying of nature and home of animals. Mainly I’ll focuse on pollution in rivers showing how it affects animals who live there. Animals that I chose to represent will be otters. Idea is to show a campaign video filmed by otters who live near the river. They complain about how their home in the river is destroyed, how they lack food, how polluted rivers affect health of otters etc. Otters will be talking about how river, their homes are destroyed, how many animals are being killed because of it.

[martynamic]

research about campaign

POLUTING RIVERS AND HOW IT AFFECTS OTTERS

Rivers are crucial to people, wild animals and environment. Pollution of those rivers can lead to negative effects to the wild life and people alike.

Rivers are crucial both to people and to the wider environment, and pollution of those rivers can cause a range of serious effects to plant, animal and human life. “The riverine ecosystem both accumulates and transports pollution, concentrating organic and inorganic pollutants in ways that flora, fauna and human health, as well as transporting them, ultimately, to the sea”. (Hydro international (2022), hydro-int. com.).

Not only pollution is affecting the wild life, but also it is a huge problem for a lot of people who rely on fishing and agriculture and because of pollution amount of the fish depletes.

One of the animal species who are affected by river pollution are otters. “There are still many threats facing otters worldwide today: Pollution - Microplastics, chemical spills, agricultural and industrial waste, litter. Habitat loss - Spreading urbanization, drainage of wetlands, dam construction, removal of bankside vegetation, etc. The most obvious type of pollution is perhaps trash and gross solids. Consisting of materials such as styrofoam, metal containers and plastic packaging, these are unsightly and persist in the environment. They can clog waterways and also present risks to bird and fish life that may swallow or become entangled in them”. (Quinn Mcveigh (2021), The Daily Climate).

Most otters are vulnerable to declining numbers of fish and amphibians. Eels which are the main source of food for otters have recently suffered huge decline. It is possible that otters can change to eating other species of fish, but it is not known what kind of impact this can have on health and population of the otters.

Otters are highly susceptible to water pollution, including oil spills.

“The study, which monitored 186 free-ranging sea otters between 2001 and 2017, found that long-term exposure to domoic acid raises their risk of fatal cardiomyopathy, which makes it harder for the heart to circulate blood throughout the body. Stranded southern sea otters were infected with toxoplasma. The researchers concluded the chemicals were "widespread" in British rivers, linking the pollution to waste water treatment plants and the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer in farming. Plastic and organic litter can change the structure of river habitats, reduce the light level in the waters beneath the debris, and even deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water”. (National library of medicine (2021), PubMed.gov).

Bibliography:

https://hydro-int.com/en-gb/river-pollution

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33526183/

https://www.dailyclimate.org/algal-blooms-sea-otters-2651366853/sea-otter-stressors

[martynamic]

Artist research

George Boorujy

G. Boorujy went to the University of Miami initially to study Marine Biology but ended up majoring in fine art.

He is an artist showing the relationship between us and the environment, especially our interaction with nature and the way we see it. He has created work for the Wildlife Conservation Society, the New York Parks Department, for over a decade illustrated the Birdwatch column for the Guardian.

Boorujy, an artist devoted to highlighting and protecting natural world. He says, “This shouldn’t be a partisan issue! Democrats, as well as Republicans, need to breathe.  The environment affects the Rich, Poor, Black, White, Urban, Rural, male, female, trans and other. All of us eat food, drink water, and breathe air to stay alive”. (Lizane Merrill (2017), Artlyst, Art categories, ’George Boorujy an artist highlighting and protecting our precious natural world’).

George Boorujy, “Fakahatchee ” 2017

George Boorujy “ Mangrove deer study “ 2019

After learning about the environmental threats to wildlife in Southern Florida, Boorujy decided to use his art to shock and shake up his audience. He says: “I don’t think of the images as containing all that much violence. I think of it more as an exploration of the reality of things around us”.

Boorujy’s work always features animals.  The animals, while not quite anthropomorphic,  reminds a little bit of human behavior. His realistic, anatomically correct drawings of animal species that one can recognize portray more than just an animal. The animals in Boorujy’s work show familiar and relatable feelings. The drawings are made close to human size because audience tend to react to an animal differently when it is the size of a human.

Artist says: When I paint animals I can express human emotion better than I can in a painting of a person”.  When you look at pictures containing humans you get distracted by hairstyles and clothes. Animals are raw. They take your guard down. I find them a much more effective vehicle for expressing human emotion. Through my paintings, I look to find the feelings we all share.” ( Lizanne Merrill, 2017, Artlyst).

George Boorujy, “Dredger” 2017

Since animals don’t have much of personal possessions or belongings it is easier to see the value of life and how precious it is. His works remind us that we are animals as well and all share our environment no matter how much we as a species are different and more evolved. 

Artist tries to show only necessary parts of the image and erase everything else that image can do without. It’s also a way to focus ones eye on what is important in an image. Putting animals in a white background makes the viewer focus on the subject and show that protection of animals is necessary.

Boorujy is "interested in how we shape, mark and manipulate the landscape," a process made graphically apparent in the rapid melt of glaciers.

George Boorujy, “When was it that I knew you” 2012

Bibliography:

https://www.artlyst.com/features/george-boorujy-an-artist-highlighting-and-protecting-our-precious-natural-world/

https://bioart.sva.edu/guest/george-boorujy/

https://www.ppowgallery.com/artist/george-boorujy/work/

http://georgeboorujy.com/j0huo0wnfyp03exl0h4qokac6fa57u

[martynamic]

Nature/Ecology/Animals

Nature / Ecology / Animals Project

Since I’m a person who likes to appreciate animals and wildlife I have decided to make my project about injustice and brutality of making clothes from animal’s leather and fur. Researching this topic further I have found out that every year around 100 million animals are raised and killed for their fur so therefore it is still a big issue and some people might not understand the seriousness of it.

First of all I wanted to decide what kind of animals I want to show in my work. First one that I decided on was Karakul lamb because of how shocking I found the making of Karakul clothes to be. It can be claimed to be the cruelest and most vicious fur. It comes from lambs who are killed right after birth or even while still in their mothers’ wombs. Second animal that I decided on was a seal because of cruel ways their fur is taken. In order to get the fur, little seals in the wild are battered to death. Last animal that I chose was a fox and one of the reasons why I decided on this animal was because foxes are one of the animals that are killed for clothing the most. They are also breed in small cages where they suffer their entire lives just to get murdered for fur. In the end I wanted to choose variety of different animals who gets murdered for clothing.

When thinking about how I’ll approach my project I decided to make it as shocking as I could. Using a quick transition from animal to clothing that the animal is turned into. By doing that I wanted to show the cruelty behind the whole process that is not seen when just looking at finished piece of clothing. “A vivid and striking image attracts everyone’s attention and can sometimes be enough to change an opinion”(Dan H., 2013, Petauk)- a quote said by Gloucestershire College design student Adam Taylor when commenting on his shockingly looking poster against cruelty in the fur industry. That kind of effect I wanted to evoke in my own work. Pieces by campaign called Lynx resonates with me in this matter as well. Organization Lynx launched anti-fur campaign “The Dumb Animals” in the mid-1980s that choses brutal and shocking ways of making images which speaks against clothing made from animals. Quick and instant shock is what I think when I look at their work and that’s what I like about it, not making the image pretty is the effective way to reach attention of the people. Brand communication planner - Chloe Allan does admit that campaign was successful, but she mentions that they took advantage of current situation –” This campaign was brave, but it was also lucky enough to benefit from the social trends and beliefs of the time” (Annette Rawstrower, 2014, Thirdsector, change makers: Lynx). She also mentions that fur coat used to be a symbol of wealth which could be another reason to shame the one who wears it. But she does admit that this organization made people think about choosing what they wear. Their posters and videos really do stay in one’s mind for quite some time.

Adam Taylor                                                

 Lynx 1988

Animal rights is one of the main things that my project speaks about. The fact that animals are so brutally killed and forced to suffer shows that animal rights in this situation is a non – existent thing. Based on the text “All animals are equal” written by Peter Singer, people think that animals can’t have rights because they don’t do same things as humans for example they don’t live in society, don’t have emotions, possess different levels of intelligence etc. But why such things are considered inhuman and why the only way for someone to receive rights is to act like people do? It also raises a question why killing animals in such brutal ways for unnecessary things like accessories is considered a humane thing to do. “The capacity for suffering the vital characteristic that gives a being the right to equal consideration” (Peter Singer, 1975, Animal liberation, page 7) considering this and the fact how animals are treated in fur industry the animal rights are not being considered enough seeing the amount of suffering they go through just to satisfy human needs.  

  Bibliography:

The Fur Trade Humane Society International:

https://www.hsi.org/news-media/fur-trade/

Janice Li, V&A blog, Dumb Animals: Lynx’s Campaign Against the Fur Industry:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/projects/dumb-animals-lynxs-campaign-against-the-fur-industry

Dan H., PetaUK, 3 Animal-Friendly Student Art Projects:

https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/3-animal-friendly-student-art-projects/

Before You Buy a Fur Coat Look at the Inside:

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O197160/before-you-buy-a-fur-poster-unknown/

Annette Rawstrone, Third sector, Change makers: Lynx:

https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/change-makers-lynx/communications/article/1289811