HYPNOGOGIC ZOO: September 2010

When army ants lose the path of the pheremon trail that drives them forward, they revert to following each other in what soon becomes a writhing spiraling mass. The ants will eventually die of exaustion.

HYPNOGOGIA - VIVID DREAMLIKE SENSATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAKING-SLEEP TRANSITION STATE.

This site is generally about our visceral, inexplicable, and sometimes ecstatic connection to animals and/or artistic representations of animals. It attempts to understand what animals mean to us both as living creatures and as powerful symbols that reach deep into our mind's eye and shape many aspects of our own consciousness.

Anthroporphism is something we seem biologically programed to do. As humans, we are prone to sentimentalize objects, ideas, and of course, animals to fit our perceptual, behavioral, and emotional apparatus. Since we can never fully comprehend the inner life of an animal, how shall we treat their "otherness" as we share life on Earth together? With respect to be certain. Still, we are left with our own skewed and humanized impressions, which manifest over and over in our culture - powerful reminders of our chosen "departure" from the nature and our animal cousins.

Topics on the site include: Animals, Art, Animals in Art, Anthropomorphism, Human-Animal relations, Anthrozoology, Zoomorophism, Neuroaesthetics, Otherness, Aesthetic Anthrozoolopomorphism, Ethology, Imagination & Creativity, Symbols, Sensory Triggers, Expressions of Animal Creativity, Instant Jolting Reactions that Large Dangerous Animals Impart, Visual Cues as Power in the Animal Kingdom, The Wild, Animal Consciousness, Inner v. Outer, Animal Totems, Natural Beauty, Natural Violence, Animal Ethics, Animal Emotions, Animal Facial Expressions, Animal Intelligence, Animal Dreams, Animal Spirits, The Animal Gaze, Coloration, Camouflage, Markings, Pelts, Coats, Chromatophores, Bioluminescence, Companion Species, Food Chains, Dreams & Nightmares, Danger, The Chase, The Human Animal, Non-human Narrative, Zoo, Experimental Zoo, Born in Captivity v. Wild, Menagerie, Bestiary, Cryptozoology, Chimera, Surrealism, Dreams, Animal Guides, Meaning v. Instinct, Metamorphosis, Interspecies Communication, Civilization v. Non-civilization, Uncivilized Beauty, Film, Photography, Travel, Safari, Expedition, Africa, India, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Asia, Deep Sea Big 5, Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Zebras, Big Cats, Great Apes, Taxidermy, Eccentric Zoologists, Explorers & Naturalists, Taxidermied Dens & Libraries, Strange Animal Anecdotes, Mythology, The tumultuous and overlapping cultures of humans and animals through history and art history, and the places where people and animals interact in unusual ways. It won't always be pretty, but hopefully fascinating.

Enjoy and thank you for visiting! Your host - Pablo Gazpachot

HYPNOGOGIC ZOO

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Galaxy of ants...

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HYPNOGOGIA - VIVID DREAMLIKE SENSATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAKING-SLEEP TRANSITION STATE.