Spring 2011

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of our share finitude with animals. This came about from both research and spending time at the zoo and museum this semester. I have noticed how taxidermy are often displayed in a way to make the animals look like they are in motion, while the live animals at the zoo often do not move much at all. In both the zoos and the museums, the backgrounds of the displays are painted to resemble landscapes and the artificial plants and props are placed to convince the viewer they are looking into nature. I find it strange that humans try to make a dead animal look like it is alive and also expect a live animal in captivity to act as if it were in the “wild.” To me, these efforts reflects the human fear of finitude. Though we will all die at some point, we often look for ways to prolong existence.

Here are a few new photographs from my second semester of graduate school taken with a medium format pinhole or digital camera.

Copyright © 2011 Diana M. Sanchez. All Rights Reserved.