AN ANIMATED DOG READS JOHN BERGER, HARAWAY, AND KAFKA

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 23 million American households adopted pets, reflecting the growing urge for animal companions. The evolving, yet complex bond between humans and animals lies at the core of Artist in Focus Matthew Lax’s AN ANIMATED DOG READS JOHN BERGER, HARAWAY, AND KAFKA which explores the complexities of human-dog relationships through cultural and philosophical lenses.

Lax uses motion capture to transform into Lassie, the iconic Rough Collie, running endlessly in a vast landscape but limited by a cage. The animation embodies the tension between freedom and confinement, prompting reflection on the roles dogs play in human society and the restrictions placed on both animals and humans.

The animation recites a fragmented script of readings from John Berger, Donna Haraway, and Franz Kafka. These theorists reflect on themes of dog-ness in their work, with Berger critiquing the reduction of animals to objects of human control in About Looking (1980) and Haraway proposing in The Companion Species Manifesto (2003) that animals, like dogs, are active participants in a mutual relationship with humans. While in Investigations of a Dog (1931) Kafka attempts to write from the perspective of the dog itself, delving into the animal’s search for meaning and exploring existential themes of identity and autonomy that resonate across species.

Through motion capture, philosophy, and animal role-play, the work challenges us to reconsider the boundaries between species and reflect on how power, freedom, and identity shape our relationships with animals.

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