On the oblique imperative: an examination of the obfuscating nature of spectacle in art and conservation

• Main Authors: Wilson, Mark, Snaebjornsdottir, Bryndis
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: 590 Animals (Zoology); 639 Hunting; fishing & conservation; 700 ARTS & RECREATION (collections; philosophy & education); Arctic; polar bear; Alaska
• Online Access: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4349/; https://www.mindinganimals.com/conferences/mac4-ciudad-de-mexico/

As artists working serially with specialists in other fields (botany museology zoology and many more) the complexities we encounter in relation to subjects of our inquiry are respectively extended and intensified. The way an artist presents information or the way s/he chooses to withhold "spectacle" for instance rather than tapping its easy currency is paramount in disrupting preconceptions in respect of a given subject. For this reason whatever individual thing is already clearly seen is rarely in fact likely to be the focus of the work. The oblique view suggesting what is beyond simple sight is the privilege of the artist whose view is always greater and more complex than what it is s/he may present. We believe that this mechanism of strategic withholding and disclosure can also be of significance in relation to how humans must now consider the environmental jeopardy of habitats and species. In this paper the apparent paradox is explored through the lens of a single event which came to light during research for an art installation matrix (2016) by Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson. Central to the project is a study of architectural variance in polar bear dens and their relation to a nexus of human activity in the arctic including indigenous peoples the oil industry conservation agencies and tourism. As is the case with much of our work we channel the principles embodied in the act of searching in this case an oil industry surveillance flight over the coastal terrain of the Northern Alaska using forward looking infrared technology (flir) to identify late autumn denning sites. The disturbance that this particular search prompted is a trigger for conjecture in relation to interspecific protocols and the questionable primacy of "sighting" in eco-tourism.