Behind the Zoo: Through the looking glass

Being put on display, expected to perform, while being presented as a collective, ignoring the forced segregation and the invisible barriers, bring us to an interesting question, 'what is captivity?'

The oldest zoological collection was a transportable one which contained every known species, however only two of each animal, one male and one female,collected by Noah as recounted in Genesis. Not does Noah get credit for conceptualizing the zoo, but as highlighted by John Elsner and Roger Cardinal’s introduction in The Cultures of Collecting, he was also the first collector. Granted it was under the request of a higher power, but in some way every collection emphasizes a purpose or some secret desire.While we can choose to believe this to be true or not, the lesson to be taken here is that collections can be thrust on its collector. Two of the oldest traceable collections of animals are; the recently uncovered (2009) burial site at Heirakonpolis, Egypt and Macedon, Greece, part of Alexander the Great’s many military expeditions.Widespread expeditions only become common during the fifteenth century, with the progress in cartography and navigational advancements. However that did not limit the curiosity of new and seemingly un-natural environments. In England,King John I’s collection of exotic creatures, started with being gifted a boat load from Normandy after annexing the territory in the early 1200. A sign of power and of ownership, the de-contextualization of the animals from their natural habitat was nothing more than a symbol of victory. The Greek collections have been hypnotized to have encouraged an educational setting; the animals at the Tower of London had no such purpose, they were merely a status symbol. What we today recognize as Zoos can be traced back to the collection of these ‘gifts’. The growing collection was stored in the Tower of London, which with its fortified walls was considered a safe place to accumulate the wild animals (fig 1). This growing collection was for the entertainment of the Monarch and his subjects. Although the public did not have access to the view these creatures, the arrival of the animals was quite a spectacle. There exist stories of a collar and chained polar bear fishing for food in Thames outside the Tower. The arrival of an elephant in 1255 drew crowds form all over the country. Though these animals were by no means considered to be Royal pets, it was important to lay royal claim on these curios. As it illustrated their established power and wealth, projecting it as a condition to acquire exotic animals.

The term menagerie first appears in the early sixteenth century referring to a “collection of wild animals kept in captivity”. It is only in the early seventeenth century that the term is used in conjunction to aristocratic or royal court animal collections. The collection existed for 400 years without a definitive word to identify its existence. What caused this need to express the collection’s purpose? 

COLLECT
Verb: collect;

1.      Bring or gather together
2.      Come together and form a group
3.      Systematically seek and acquire items of a particular kind
4.      Accumulate over a period of time

What makes an object worth collecting? Curiosity is an important aspect of 
collecting. With the spread of colonies, there was an affinity to discover 
the unknown, or rather, the different. The nineteenth century paved the way 
for many sponsored expeditions, looking for curios.Found object; vases, pots 
and pans, tools of everyday use, gained an importance, as curios. Nature has 
captivated the human cognizance since man first acquired tools, it would only 
be natural for the curiosity to extend to the subject of new flora and fauna. 
By means of collecting it is possible to establish a personal identity 
orcharacterize the other and often identifying this other as a conquest.  

This idea of conquest can be analyzedin the manner in which collection is 
presented, making presenting as important an aspect as the collection itself.

The aristocratic menageries namely the Tower of London and the Vincennes Menagerie were primarily intended for personal viewing and not for any scientific or educational purpose. The Tower menagerie was made public during Elizabeth I’s reign, around the late sixteenth century, interestingly she was held prisoner in the Tower for a period of time. This was also the time of a great nautical discoveries and territorial expansion. It was important to showcase and exhibit to the public, the results of these voyages. The exhibition would also present an easy recruitment method, and was a means to entice involvement.Animals were objects, collected and displayed in enclosures similar to the cabinet of curiosities, lined up against the walls, on two levels, stacked over each other, behind grill shutters.The novelty of this soon passed. By the seventeenth century, this enclosure had developed into places where wild animals were kept and trained for the purpose of exhibition. In 1622, James I had a stone observation platform installed for him and his court to view the lions being made to fight other animals. Much like the other caged occupants of the Tower; the prisoners, whose execution were offered for all the citizens to see.This was considered entertainment; as neither of the participants was considered human. But this does raise a very interesting question, as to whether the animals are artifacts or prisoners, perhaps both. There was certainly a desire to experience the wild. This is where the culture of collection intersects the culture of presenting. At the time the floral or the natural environment of the animal was not as closely associated with experiencing the wild. In 1741, an illustrated guidebook is published for children. The Historic Royal Palaces: Tower of London Factsheet says this about the guidebook:

In the first true guidebook to the Tower, published in 1741, the animals listed include the lions Marco and Phillis and their son Nero, two lionesses called Jenny and Nanny, three lion cubs, a leopard called Will, a panther called Jenny, two tigers called Will and Phillis and their son Dick, a raccoon, two vultures, two eagles, a porcupine, an ape and a strange bird from the East Indies called a ‘warwoven’.

I am not sure if the guide published names of all the animals or simply the predator. But you can detect a change in the modus operandi. The collection went from portraying a sport, to projecting components of the human condition. It was this outlook which was highly influential in the approach in which animals were handled and observed during this time. This changing typology was a precursor to the development of the modern zoological garden.

PRESENT
Verb, Present participle: presenting

1.      Give or award formally or ceremonially
2.      Exhibita particular state or appearance to others
3.      Represent someone or something to others in a particular way

Presentation of a collection IN a public forum goes beyond presenting taste, 
it also becomes a tool to showcase the ‘new’. Any exhibition must have a 
sense of completeness or at the very least abundance. The nature of the 
presentation is often not a permanent feature. Initially the Cabinets of 
Curiosities, which was an established typology, sufficed. However, with 
growing knowledge came a better understanding of habitat. This knowledge 
also encourages a shift in the collection itself. With understanding what to 
reveal, and the quantity to be exhibited the artifacts, a new questionemerges. 
What would be the best way to display the constant influx of new arrivals? 

Establishing a typology of collecting ultimately leads to the displaying of 
these artifacts, as we view them now. 

The Zoological Society of London was set up in 1826, opening a small collection of living animals in 1828. The selected site was originally intended for barracks. In 1831, a large number of animals from the menagerie were sent to the Zoological Garden. This change could be attributed to the industrial revolution, changing the tread of the collection of live specimens for study, rather than amusement. Thus the symbolic use of animals began to merge with notions of a well-ordered and systematic arrangement.However the need to establish ownership and conquest is still a significant aspect in the manner of display.

One of the oldest enclosures is the Raven’s cage, is essentially a large bird cage, has not changed form, since it was established in 1829. The enclosure consists of a series of large cubicles separated by a mess. Each cubicle consists of a single species, maybe a pair; planning in many ways seeks order in segregation. The observer is separated by a mess followed by shrubbery and a rail. The aviary display goes through a major transformation in the 1960’s, more than a hundred years later, with the Snowdon Aviary. The oldest built enclosure, which still houses its original occupants, is the Giraffe House 1836. Resembling a town house with a sloping roof, compared to being placed in a cabinet, the animals were given a home. The Giraffe house still stands to this day, and highlights a very important aspect of the human condition: playing house. Starting with naming the animals and identifying parentage, this acts of projection become reflections of what we understand about human behaviour. The monkey cage during the early years was similar to the giant bird cages, meant only for viewing. Building homes for the animals actually emphasized the need to have control over nature. The Round House 1932, Penguin Pool 1934 and Casson Pavilion 1965 are fascinating architectural structures, but complete failures in terms of functionality. The Casson Pavilion is predominately a conceptual building were the concrete structure was meant to emulate the thick hide of an elephant’s skin. While the plan, was meant to resemble the herd gathering around a water hole.

The inclusion of the natural habitat was an idea conceived by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. He founded the Tierpark Hagenbeck in Stellingen 1907, notable as being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, instead of barred cages.This move seems more human, but was possibly informed by previous human exhibitions. In 1874 he Samoan and Sami people as ‘purely natural’ populations. In 1876, he put on a travelling display of‘some wild beasts and Nubian people,’which toured Paris, London, and Berlin. Like the animals at the Tower of London who were presented a similar set of conditions as the prisoners. The animals accompanying the human exhibits were presented conditions similar to a very different set of captives.

DISPLAY
Verb: display

1.       Put (something) in a prominent place in order that it may 
readily be seen

Noun: display

1.       A performance, show, or event staged for public entertainment
2.       An electronic device for the visual presentation of data or images

 
Is a presentation of a collection that different from a display of a collection?
Once you display an artifact,it can no longer be part of a collection. The 
display now projects on the object, a different set of characteristics. The 
Cabinet of Curiosities was a congregation objects, from different, not 
necessarily connectedsources. But by placed on display, the artifacts gain an 
identity outside the collector. However, this identity is a fa?ade, one which 
is carefully crafted. While the public animal fights in the menageries were 
staged, they still lacked the show of a display. Every habitat, provided for 
the animals is done so in a manner to mislead both the viewer and the displayed 
animal. The viewer is meant to accept that what being presented is natural, not 
just in terms of the environment but behaviour as well.

The London Zoo however, was far more taken up with Modernism. The Round House 1932, this was meant to be house the various apes. It is no longer used as a monkey house; in fact, it now houses relatively smaller species. The apes were placed in cages inside a built structure. The current ape enclosures while, filled with elements of their natural habitat, are not meant to display their agility. The Gorilla indoor enclosure looks like a child’s pirate activity room, with ropes to swing and fabric hammocks. The public is separated by reinforced glass and a railing. There is no grill or cage here, if it weren’t for the visible joinery’s you could be convinced you are sharing a room. The indoor highlights the fact that there is actually an outside, cementing the theatrics of invisible barrier. The outdoors, the portion which uses the Hagenbeck method of separation is created to make you believe you are not seeing a performance, while actually standing on the stage. Cedric Price’s Snowdon Aviary built in 1964, in many ways acknowledges this invisibility. The giant net, draped over the innovative aluminum frame,was meant to be temporary and was to be removed once the animals got accustomed to their new home. Yet the net remains. However, the walk through the monkey enclosure (part of the Gorilla Kingdom) does not have high fencing. The monkeys could jump over the walls, were it not for the high voltage wires lining the top of said walls. Sending a very clear message, ‘leaving your assigned place will cause you pain.’It would be important the change the terminology took. The animals went from being placed in “houses” to terraces (Lion Terraces 1976),kingdoms (Gorilla Kingdom 2007) beaches (Penguin Beach 2011) and territories (Tiger Territory 2013). These titles indicate open spaces, which the Garden at Regents Park soon ran out of. In 1931, Whipsnade Park Zoo was opened. It was set up as a site to enable conservation and was a refuge for the animal from the London Zoo during WWII and in later years to de-stress the animals. Whipsnade emulates a safari and is almost a ride, visitors can driver there personal vehicle between and into certain enclosures. It is for all intents and purposes a place to allow the animal to be free.

PERFORMANCE

Noun: performance;

1.      An act of presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment
2.      An act of performing a dramatic role, song, or piece of music
3.      Informal: a display of exaggerated behaviour or a process 
involving a great deal of unnecessary time and effort; a fuss
4.      The action or process of performing a task or function.
5.      A task or operation seen in terms of how successfully it is performed
6.      The capabilities of a machine, product, or vehicle


This is what it has been from the start. 
The performance:
of power with the menagerie
of knowledge with public gardens
of order with segregation
of freedom
The animals on display reflect not only our understanding of other species, 
but how we view the other.

Unless the animal escapes, in the words of ZSL spokeswoman Alice Henchley (2007): "It's just standard procedure, if the animal cannot be quickly and safely recaptured it will be shot. We can't be sure with a tranquilizer."

And that is the moral of freedom.

Originally written in April 2014, as part of my Master's course at the AA, London