Back in April a University of California-Berkeley student caused a stir when he slaughtered a chicken in class as part of an art project to protest people’s supposed separation from the food they eat. In May, an art student at the Victorian College of the Arts in Australia also killed a live chicken as part of an art performance.
In the most recent case, the student apparently “bashed” the chicken to death as a way of criticizing the media depiction of violence and the war in Iraq. The student filmed himself killing the chicken and then screened the film during class.
Numerous complaints were filled with Australia’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but the student got off with a warning both from the school and the RSPCA.
What the hell is going on at art schools and departments these days?
Sources:
Caution over chicken kill. Andra Jackson, The Age.Com (Australia), May 24, 2003.
‘Chicken bashing’ sparks probe. Andra Jackson, The Age.Com (Australia), May 22, 2003.