Animal Activism and Visual Culture: An Interview with Keri Cronin

Detail from “Second Stage of Cruelty” by William Hogarth. Public domain image from Wikipedia.

The animal movements are known for their use of graphic images, but what is the history behind such strategies? How have these images changed over time? When are these images successful and when do they backfire? Dr. Keri Cronin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University, discusses the history of the movements, some of the key advocates, and the strategies they deployed. For example, Cronin describes the legacy of social reformer and antivivisectionist Frances Power Cobbe, particularly her creative appropriation of scientific images.

At times subverting the status quo, and other times reinforcing it, the visual history of early animal activism tells us something important not only about past treatment of animals, but also about the social contexts within which advocates struggled.

News links:

• Celebrities unite to battle animal activists
• Demand spikes at pet food banks, discount vets
• New guidelines published as mouse models thrown into question

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