Revered as deities, feared as harbingers of doom, or held as symbols of the inner struggles of man, animals have great significance in cultures around the globe. To thoroughly examine these varied interpretations of animals across the spectrum of humanity, would be a herculean task requiring volumes, and perhaps a lifetime to comprehend.
Instead and in a spirit of curiosity, a visual summary is offered here to fuel reflection on the diversity of and mutual reliance upon, our cohabiting fauna.
Pictorial forms offering realistic depictions, literal interpretations, abstractions of patterns, colors and even mystical creatures, all betraying our human fascination with animals. And in this era, with the ability to reproduce natural splendor as decorative art for the floor, we can, without harm recognize and honor beauty of our fellow creatures through mimicry, duplication, and reproduction, i.e. Art; perhaps that can be considered the crowning achievement of the dominant species on this planet.
“I could end this with a moral, as if this were a fable about animals, though no fables are really about animals.“ — MARGARET ATWOOD, THE TENT
