Fritz Haeg - Animal Estates :: April 16, 2008; 6:30 pm :: The Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Massachusetts Institute for Technology, 265 Massachusetts Ave 3rd Fl (N52-390), Cambridge MA.

The Center is pleased to host Fritz Haeg and his project Animal Estates. While at MIT, Haeg will give a talk on his work and, with the help of MIT students and artists, build one installment of Animal Estates, a new series of dwellings thoughtfully designed to welcome an animal back into the city. These environments are made for displaced wildlife or for animals that have been domesticated. The Center will host one of eight estates—the first was built in New York as part of the Whitney Biennial while others will appear at Arthouse, Austin, TX; the Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD; The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Cooley Gallery, Portland OR; Alaska Design Forum, Fairbanks, AK; and Casco Projects, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Haeg writes: “As animal habitats dwindle daily, Animal Estates proposes the reintroduction of animals back into our cities, strip malls, garages, office parks, freeways, front yards, parking lots and neighborhoods… As the human domination of the planet continues, animals are alternately viewed as exotic specimens to be treated as spectacle, cartoon characters that are anthropomorphized, friendly companions to be coddled, objectified resources to be exploited, inconveniences to be tolerated, pests to be eradicated or anonymous unseen creatures to which we are indifferent. Animal Estates intends to provide a provocative 21st century model for the human-animal relationship that is more intimate, visible and thoughtful.”

Fritz Haeg is an architect and artist based in Los Angeles whose work combines strategies from architecture, art, ecology, and education. Known for his geodesic dome and the lively Sundown Salons that attract emerging artists, musicians, and performers, Haeg’s projects challenge conventional ideas about where art should go and what art can do.