Animal Spirit
Grayson Perry (British, b. 1960), 2016, Color etching
With a nod to the phrase “animal spirits,” used in the early eighteenth century to denote the instinct toward risk, Grayson Perry’s print "Animal Spirit" summons the past to account for the financial crash of 2008. A cross section of a creature combining features of a bull and a bear whos organs are ironically labeled with adjectives connoting reason and control, Perry’s hybrid brute symbolizes the irrational beast that controls the market. Equally terrifying is the gruesome landscape the creature occupies, with its abandoned infant, hanging man, and myriad oil wells. The setting conveys a sense of the unfettered corporate greed that supports and nourishes the monster.
: Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
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