Now, I know what you are thinking:
"how precious, and I've never seen a cat webcam before..." Well,
I agree it's not the most original idea, but the its most important
aspect is its implications.
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Humans interact with their
non-human counterparts in many ways, many of them destructive. We
chow down on everything from bacon cheeseburgers to fois gras and then
go home to Tabby and Spot, rarely thinking about the distinctions
between the two. Is there one? Well, each species
serves a purpose in our lives: some are fit only to eat, others
can live with us but also fuction as our property. I would like
to deconstruct this notion of the non-human animal as either personal
property or commodity. Just as we do not classify people as such,
we should not classify non-persons as such. We live in symbiosis
with thses animals--especially the ones who provide us with
companionship. Though we feel like we give a lot to them, they
give back infinitely. They also sacrifice both autonomy and
instinct to assimilate our existence. We should be grateful. |
| In this project, I will
demonstrate my interactions with my own companion animals through the
basic activity of play. Through play, both myself and my
non-human companions display our basic reponses to stimuli. The
cats get to show off their hunting skills while I get to show off my
cognitive abilities. We both learn to anticipate each others
moves, both intellectually and intuitively. Furthermore, we get
to deconstruct our relationship within the context of both our shared
space and our shared environent. Though I provide food and
shelter to these felines, they still crave the hunt--an experience that
I can simulate but not entirely replicate. In this way, play
becomes something unique, not neccesarily dependent on instinct or
intellect. It is also fun. While it is certainly an outlet
for the feline's energy, it is also an outlet for mine, alieviating
everyday stress and anxiety. |
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