This piece of art
deserves to be featured in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art because it portrays
cockroaches in a creative light, rather than as insects that need to be
exterminated. This painting was created by a hissing cockroach, one of the
inspirational arthropods for artist Steven Kutcher. Kutcher paints the feet and
bodies of cockroaches and other insects, then lets them loose on a canvas. He
views cockroaches and other arthropods as artists, and the artwork that they
create as a glimpse into their world. Kutcher began his career as an insect
wrangler for movies, and is known for his fascination and excitement about his
insects. I think that this union of art and cockroaches relates very much to
the discussion we had in class regarding the differences between animals and
humans. One of the main differences was creativity, and we discussed how some
animals can paint, and whether or not it can be considered actual creativity.
The cockroaches behind these paintings may not know that they are creating art,
but it is creative all the same. The art allows us to actually visualize the
movements of cockroaches, and to me, this makes them less
"creepy-crawly". By looking at their footprints rather than just
feeling them, it almost humanizes them in a way. Don't get me wrong, that
feeling of a crawling bug is still gross, but this art is all about cockroaches
just doing their thing and minding their own business. This art also addresses
the general perspective about cockroaches
and insects, as opposed to other animals. When elephants or monkeys create art,
it is featured on news programs and regarded as amazing or cute. However, when
cockroaches and insects create art, it is kept pretty under-the-radar. I had never
heard about insect art until I began researching for this post, and I was
amazed to learn that there have been museum exhibits featuring art related to
insects. It is refreshing to know that there are people out there who view
insects as on the same level as other animals, and I think that the general
public's view of insects would change if art like this was more widespread.
I attempted to look for pieces of art in relation to cockroaches and I could not find anything, but this is completely interesting! Hissing cockroaches are fairly large in size, and I would never think of using their bodies as tools for a canvas. Although there are differences between animals and humans, we do share close relationships with those that share our environment. Not everyone will appreciate this piece of art; but then again, it does make one wonder about insect art and the unpredictability of the animal’s movements.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what that piece of art was, I came on the page and I was like ummm thats not a roach, lol but I think its cool how you notice that some people view roaches as equal to other animals and now that I think about what you said its only right to think of them as equal or if not higher than animals. I say that just because how long they have been on earth and how they adapted so well to every climate.
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