Main photo above: “Portable Cow” by Liz Hingley

AMES, Iowa ––  “Portable Cow,” a symposium, exhibition and workshops exploring the complex, often overlooked lives of farmed animals — especially cows — from a posthumanist perspective, will take place Feb. 18–20 at the Iowa State University College of Design and Student Innovation Center.

“Rocheval 4898: ‘Charming and fragile all at the same time’ (2023) by Liz Hingley

Supported by the ISU Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, this series of events invites participants to consider the interconnectedness of humans, animals, technology, nature and the environment — that humans and our actions are not separate from the lives of non-human beings.

The first day, held in the Student Innovation Center Launch Pad, will feature individual symposium talks and a panel discussion by series co-organizers Emily Morgan, associate professor of art history, and international scholars Camille Bellet and Liz Hingley. The second day will include two public workshops in the College of Design’s Gallery 181, with an RSVP requested in advance due to space constraints.

An accompanying exhibition of the same name will be on display Feb. 18–28 in Gallery 181. The symposium will conclude with a public exhibition reception from 5:30–7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the gallery.

Portable Cow

The symposium, workshops and exhibition are based on “Portable Cow,” an interactive “exhibition-in-miniature” contained within a box inspired by the rounded corners and sleek design of the smartphones and robots used by farmers to monitor and care for their dairy herds. Conceived by an international team of scholars and designers and created with the support of the Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom, the interactive project is composed of maps, documents, farmer quotes and photographs.

“My hope for this symposium is that participants think deeply about their interactions with animals,” said Morgan, whose research and scholarship considers visual cultures of industrial-scale animal slaughter and meat production in the United States.

“Through the presentations, workshops and exhibition, participants will confront the lives of cows, farmer experiences and the shared human-animal bonds that arise from and within the day-to-day realities of dairy farming.”

Schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Launch Pad, Room 4250, Student Innovation Center
Participants can also join virtually via Webex

9–9:15 a.m.
Welcome
Matthew Sivils, director of the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities and professor of English, Iowa State University

9:20–9:40 a.m.
Symposium Talk 1: “The Art of Knowing: Transdisciplinarity, Senses, and More-than-human Perspectives”
Camille Bellet, Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and co-founder of the Non-human Animals in the Medical Humanities Network

9:45–10:05 a.m.
Symposium Talk 2: “Curating Cows on Campus: Art, Anthropology and Collaboration”
Liz Hingley, artist, anthropologist and Honorary Artist at Migration Mobilities Bristol and doctoral candidate, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

10:10–10:30 a.m.
Symposium Talk 3: “Picturing Relationships: Human, Animal, Machine”
Emily Morgan, associate professor of art history in the Department of Art and Visual Culture, Iowa State University

10:30–10:50 a.m.
Break

10:55–11:45 a.m.
Panel Discussion
Camille Bellet, Liz Hingley and Emily Morgan

11:45 a.m.–noon
Closing Remarks

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Gallery 181, College of Design

8 a.m.–5 p.m.
“Portable Cow” Exhibition

9:30–10:30 a.m.
“Portable Cow Unboxed” Workshop 1

11 a.m.–noon
“Portable Cow Unboxed” Workshop  2

Both workshops will offer the same experience. They’ll focus on a series of activities with visual, tactile and auditory elements, inviting participants to explore the multiple dimensions of the human-cow relationship through their senses.

Space is limited to 20 participants for each workshop. Contact Emily Morgan, emorgan@iastate.edu, to reserve your spot.

Thursday, Feb. 20
Gallery 181, College of Design

8 a.m.–5 p.m.
“Portable Cow” Exhibition

5:30–7:30 p.m.
“Portable Cow” Exhibition Reception

Contacts

Emily Morgan, Associate Professor, Department of Art and Visual Culture, emorgan@iastate.edu
Lauren Johnson, Communications Specialist, College of Design, laujohn2@iastate.edu

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