Art to Zoo: Exploring Animal Natures

This exhibition of photographs, drawn from the permanent collection, looks beyond the immediate allure of adorable animals, to explore the dimensions of animal characteristics and knowledge. The human species has long held itself as the highest animal form, while often overlooking or being unaware of the many traits that other species exhibit. While exploring animal nature from an artist’s perspective, this exhibition also investigates the scientific discoveries that have been made about a variety of species. 

Viewers are invited to learn about animal knowledge and perception, for animals are sentient beings who possess a remarkable range of skills and senses, capacities that are beginning to be studied and understood in depth. Just as animal portraiture reveals personalities, From Art to Zoo seeks to explore larger scientific truths.

Image: Richard Salas, Four Tenors, 2012. Inkjet print, ed. 1/5. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Museum purchase with funds provided by Tim Walsh and Ken Anderson.