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Animating Biophilosophy:
*Image Accompaniment for Animal Enrichment and The VivoArts School for Transgenic Aesthetics Ltd. | Adam Zaretsky (Marist College, New York)
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2001 Again: Gorilla Foraging Enrichment Response with Stick Slow Motion Video, Adam Zaretsky,
Pittsburgh Zoo, 2013 Soundtrack: Pete Edwards and Stephanie Pan play the Errorarium,
Ja Natuurlijk, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (GEM), den Hague, Netherlands, EU, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Pittsburgh Zoo, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Poultry Showmanship and Judging, 4-H Poultry Building, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Poultry Showmanship and Judging, 4-H Poultry Building, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Poultry Showmanship and Judging, 4-H Poultry Building, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Poultry Showmanship and Judging, 4-H Poultry Building, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Poultry Showmanship and Judging, 4-H Poultry Building, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

A juvenile great tit reacts boldly to a novel object in its home cage. The penlight battery elicits a
reaction which is a mixture of curiosity and fear. Novel object exploration is repeatable and correlates
to novel environment exploration. Individuals that explore a novel environment more quickly are also
bolder towards a novel object. They are also more aggressive towards conspecifics and sing more
vigorously.

Penlite Cage, Photo: Dr. Kees van Oers, Senior Scientist, Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands
Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Three juvenile great tits Parus major, from lines selected for divergent levels of personality exploring a
tree in a novel environment. Novel environment exploration is an operational measure for animal
personality and is correlated to a suite of consistent behaviours.

Hand Reared, Photo: Dr. Kees van Oers, Senior Scientist, Department of Animal Ecology,
Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands

An adult great tit Parus major is exploring a novel object, in this case a pink panther model. Individuals
consistently differ in how bold they respond to such novel objects. These differences have a genetic
basis and have consequences for reproductive success. Correlations among traits and individual
consistency indicate that these are part of a construct also known as animal personality. This is
comparable to how humans differ in their personality.

Pink Panther Model, Photo: Dr. Kees van Oers, Senior Scientist, Department of Animal Ecology,
Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Golden Spur, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, Open University of Diversity, Meeuwen (BE), 2010
©Koen Vanmechelen

Golden Spur, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project ©Koen Vanmechelen, photo by Alex Deyaert

Golden Spur, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project ©Koen Vanmechelen, photo by Alex Deyaert

Spur, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, Open University of Diversity, Meeuwen (BE), 2010
©Koen Vanmechelen

Golden Spur, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, Parallellepipeda, Museum M, Leuven (BE), 2010
©Koen Vanmechelen, photo by Stoffel Hias

Document: Adam Zaretsky, Judge, Costume Class (All Species), Cattle Show Ring, 4 H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo Document: Adam Zaretsky, Judge, Costume Class (All Species), Cattle Show Ring, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo Document: Adam Zaretsky, Judge, Costume Class (All Species), Cattle Show Ring, 4-H/CCEUC
(Cornell Cooperative Extention Ulster County), www.cceulster.org, Ulster County Fair, New York, USA,
August 4, 2013

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Bronx Zoo, 2003

Enriching the Devil: The Tasmanian Devil , David Schaap, The Shape of Enrichment, Vol. 11(1) Feb 2002, http://www.enrichment.org

Enrichment Arts Lab, Adam Zaretsky, digital collage, 2011.VASTAL: The Vivoarts School for Transgenic
Aesthetics, Ltd., Zaretsky, Adam, Ph.D., RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, 2012, 203 pages; 3530013 , http://search.proquest.com//docview/1220674667, pg. 97,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq223EvlUOg

Inanimate enrichment increases complexity of the cage environment, thereby promoting non-injurious
activities, Inanimate Enrichment, Photos 93 & 94,
http://www.awionline.org/lab_animals/rhesus/pho93-08.htm, 2014

Photo: Adam Zaretsky, Pittsburgh Zoo, 2013

Form for Student’s Conceptual Designs, Team with Enrichment Specialists at the Bronx Zoo,
Animal Enrichment and Art Studio, Creative Design for Animal Intelligence, Adam Zaretsky and
Kathy High, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Fall 2003

Documents, Orangutan Enrichment, Hammocks for Non-Humans, Sondra Rose Hart, Liz Rudnick,
Scott Andrew, Hyla Willis (SubRosa) and Adam Zaretsky, Led by: Michelle Farmerie, MAIS-ZAL,
Chair Animal Enrichment Committee and Animal Behavior Manager/Keeper, Pittsburgh Zoo &
PPG Aquarium, 2013

BIG CAT PIÑATAS: Baked Pig Piñata, Filled with Fresh Dead and Gutted Rabbits and fed to the Siberian Tigers, The Piñatas were paper mache' (flour water and newspaper over cardboard boxes) sculptures in the form of animals.  These sculptures were then stuffed with safe and animal appropriate meat from the Zoo's kitchen and then fed to the animals as BIG CAT PIñATAS. All of this was done with the advice of the San Fransisco Zoo Keepers and Animal Care Specialists. No harm was done in to any animals during the Big Cat Piñatas, Art and Biology, Animal Enrichment Class Collaboration Production. In fact Big Cats were Enriched! The Big Cat Piñatas were built as a part of: VivoArts: Art and Biology Studio, C.I.A. – Conceptual Information Arts, San Francisco State University, Taught by Adam Zaretsky with Teaching Assistance from: Julia Reodica + Meredith Evans and cooperative creation by all these artists: Eric Bemberress, Sean Brimer, Arlene Campbell, Carmel Crane, Kristina Hoeh, Yoshi Kawa, Trey Jackson, Josh Lon, Ryan Medel, Mayumi Ota, Michael Rich, Mike Symmetry, Nada, Samuel Tagulao, , Tommy Walker, Zack Wetzel, These documents wouldn’t be possible without the collaborative spirit of openess between San Francisco State University and San Francisco Zoo, 2001, Super Big Thanks to Prof. Steven Wilson, Head of C.I.A., R.I.P. The Zookeepers from the San Francisco Zoo: Eve Lyon and Lori K. and All the Volunteers.

BIG CAT PIÑATAS: Robot Cat Piñata, Filled with Fresh Dead and Gutted Rabbits and fed to the
Siberian Tigers, Photo Document: Adam Zaretsky, SFSU/SFZoo, Ibid.

BIG CAT PIÑATAS: Rat with Cheese Piñata, The Rat with Cheese Piñata was filled with Raw Potted Horse
Meat Food Product and fed to the Lion, Photo Document: Adam Zaretsky, SFSU/SFZoo, Ibid.

Scarface, Adam Zaretsky, BioSolar Cells, 2014

Poor in the World, Photo: Adam Fiannaca, Document, Dangerous Liasons, Leiden University Embryology
Arts Honors Class in collaboration with Jeanette Groenendaal and Zoot Derks and the Participating
Students of Vivoarts, The Arts and Genomics Centre, Leiden University, 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mve5b8RW6_8

Adam Zaretsky, Male Hysteria Self Portrait, #163, 2006.