VAG controversy provokes division in arts community

Despite the animal-rights controversy that culminated in the dismantling of an installation that used live lizards, toads, scorpions, tarantulas, cockroaches, millipedes, and snakes, the Vancouver Art Gallery's chief curator said she would consider similar exhibits in the future.

"Does this mean we'll never have any insects or reptiles or animals in the gallery? No. I think you take each consideration separately and view it within the larger context," Daina Augaitis told the Straight .

Chinese-born artist Huang Yong Ping 's Theater of the World , an installation in the gallery's current retrospective of his work, came under fire from the Vancouver Humane Society and the BC SPCA. When the BC SPCA ordered that the lizards and tarantulas be removed from the exhibit–after the VAG had complied with earlier demands to provide more water, lighting, and hiding spaces for the animals–the gallery and artist chose to remove the animals altogether and leave the cage empty as a sign of protest.

"I think that he [Huang] is angry that he was forced to do this," said Augaitis, "but it was impossible to comply with the latest orders, and that really would have neutralized the work."

The controversy has provoked strong opposing reactions within the local arts community. Scott Watson , director-curator of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery and associate professor of fine arts at UBC, told the Straight he was angry that animal-rights concerns had taken precedence over the artistic integrity of Huang's work.

"I think that the humane society saw an opportunity to bring its own issues to the foreground at the expense of the VAG. I think it was a cynical move on their part," he said. "We need people protecting animal rights. But in this situation I think what they did was inappropriate and cynical.…Vancouver's trying to be a player on the international stage of contemporary art and doing a pretty good job. When things like this happen, it shows that when all is said and done, we don't have a culture here that understands and respects the value of art."

Carol Gigliotti , an artist and animal-rights activist who teaches interactive design and media at Emily Carr Institute, said she supported the BC SPCA and the Vancouver Humane Society's handling of the situation. "Artists often feel that what they are doing is somehow sacred and they have this idea that they should be able to have the freedom of whatever they want to do," she said, adding, "I do think there are things that trump artistic freedom and for me, that is the well-being of another being." One lizard, one tarantula, one scorpion, and one cockroach died over the course of the exhibition, Augaitis confirmed, stressing that none had fallen victim to predation.

Jessica Werb
Straight.com