Beasts at the Border

Julie Greicius bio ↓  ·  May 18th, 2009  ·  filed under art

domesticated_2

The subjects—animal and human—in Amy Stein’s beautiful collection of photographs, “Domesticated,” find themselves at the uneasy intersection of nature and civilization. Her strange and discomforting—but also sometimes amusing—images capture man and beast on the brink of implied confrontation, sometimes separated by as little as a chain-link fence or highway guardrail. The profound vulnerability on both sides speaks volumes about the human alienation from nature, and nature as prey to the detritus and overdevelopment of humans. At their best, her subjects hold up a mirror to one another, out of place in each other’s worlds, highlighting a dichotomy that seems unnaturally polar and melancholy.

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Julie Greicius is the senior literary editor and a regular contributor for The Rumpus. She works as ghostwriter by day and a licensed (really) hula hoop instructor by night. She's co-editor of Rumpus Women, Vol I, and has an MFA from Columbia University. She lives in California with her husband and two children. Follow her on Twitter. More from this author →

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