Zoon Politikon : The de Waal Group
Synthetic grass, wood, aluminum, photography
Zoon Politikon: The De Waal Group represents the art adaptation of author and renowned primatologist Frans de Waal’s documentary photography of the behavior of chimpanzee and bonobo primates, Pan troglodytes and Pan paniscus. The Title of the work Zoon Politikon refers to Aristotle’s taxonomy of humans as political animals in reference to our citizenship of the ‘polis’ (city). The careful selection of the images to adapt is with regard to the 98% parallel of genetic DNA that humans, bonobos and chimpanzees equally share. All works are made with the kind permission of Dr. de Waal.
CONTEXT
Humans, chimpanzees and bonobos equally share over 98% of the same genetic DNA. Weir’s careful selection of de Waal’s images and behavioral acts was chosen with respect this shared genetic ancestry. Beyond what bonobos share with chimpanzees and humans, these two hominidae primates differ significantly over the organization of their social stratification and cohesion. Chimpanzees are largely a patriarchal society wherein conflict is typically resolved with varying manifestations of aggressive and violent acts. Sex amongst chimpanzees is also predominately comprised of heterosexual partnerships. Alternatively, the bonobo species is identified as having a largely matriarchal society wherein conflict between individuals is typically resolved with some form of sexual encounter regardless of the two genders at odds.
TITLE & CONCEPTS
The title of the work, ‘Zoon Politikon,’ refers to Aristotle’s taxonomy of humans as ‘political beings’ or in zoological terms, ‘political animals.’ This title is with respect to one’s identity and their citizen obligations to the ‘polis’ (city). Aristotle’s emphasis was arguably the acknowledgement of politics as being fundamental to the nature of human behavior; perhaps he also believed that those politics were the fundamentals of a civilized life and identity.
The title ‘Zoon Politikon’ is intended to assist the synthesis between the represented subject matter of the artwork and the physical composition of the work. Thus, as the entire ‘De Waal group’ portrays an expression of hominid fundamentals that Homo sapiens equally and daily exhibit, the composition of the materials and forms that make up the group may be better understood in terms of geography, rural and urban , or primitive and civilized. It is within this dialogue , between the subject and the object, that Weir’s work, ‘Zoon Politikon: The de Waal Group,’ attempts to explore the foundations of identity, civilization, and human nature.
Synthetic grass, wood, aluminum, photography
2011