The Animal Before Me

The animal is there before me, there next to me, there in front of me (…)
since it is before me, it is behind me. 
It surrounds me
Jacques Derrida

The exhibition “The Animal Before Me” is a joint curatorial project of the Institute of Art History, Adam Mickiewicz University, and the National Museum in Poznań. It deals with the representations and role of animals in art history and in contemporary society.

All the works of art selected come from the storage facility of the National Museum in Poznan. They are not part of a permanent exhibition and most of them have not been exhibited before.

The display emphasizes images with motifs of animals which used to occupy a marginal position in art, while here they have been placed in the spotlight. Thus, we reverse the traditional hierarchy of genres, to reflect on animal rights and representations.

The artworks presented here were created between the 17th and 20th centuries, and have been arranged in a thematic rather than chronological order. The show is divided into the following sections: First Look; Animal Perspective; Coexistence; Animal Portrait vs. Still Life, Confrontations, the Circus, Poster: Zoo, Advertising and Activism

The “animals before you” are mostly dogs, horses, cows, sheep, fish, and birds; on the one hand they are “captured” within various conventions and iconographic schemes, on the other they “break free” and escape the conventions. The fundamental idea of the exhibition is to give animals a voice and a gaze, to bring out their identity and emotions – aspects usually marginalized in art. The exhibition is meant to “re-present” them or, as the title indicates, to put them in front of us, and on an equal footing with us.

The curatorial team of students of the Institute of Art History at Adam Mickiewicz University consists of:  Anna Jackowska, Sebastian Kańczurzewski, Adriana Kiełczewska, Kamila Lange, Paulina Mazurowska, Wiktoria Przydanek, Kornelia Starczewska, Grzegorz Śliwiński and Agata Wawrowska, under the supervision of Prof. UAM Dr. Filip Lipinski and Prof. UAM Dr. Paweł Leszkowicz. Project co-ordinators: Katarzyna Grabowska MNP, prof. UAM dr. hab. Piotr Korduba.

Exhibition co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

The organizers

The principal sponsor of the National Museum in Poznań

Media patrons: