The carcass of a dog draped over a beer crate was installed as a sculpture within the Dunedin School of Art at Otago Polytechnic this week, provoking tears and outrage among students and faculty members.
Almost immediately after being discovered in an exhibition space, the surprise work by a second-year male art student was removed and the sculpture studio closed for the day.
Shocked students were briefed by art school lecturers the next day and given the chance to debate ethical boundaries in display art.
The installation was intended as a tribute to the dead animal, which was allegedly found by the student on a Dunedin road, already dead, and without identification tags.
Negative reaction to his sculpture had taught the student a valuable lesson about what was considered acceptable, a faculty member said.
In retrospect, he understood the difference between displaying objectionable material within an exhibition context, which people could choose to view, and ambushing people with offensive content in public.
Despite initial negativity, the incident had become a beneficial learning exercise for art school students, a teacher said.
No disciplinary action would be taken.
The Otago Daily Times was contacted by the father of a second-year art student, who was disturbed by her classmate's work. The parent said he was concerned whether the polytechnic had a line which could not be crossed in terms of inappropriate or offensive actions by a student in the name of art.
His daughter did not need to be exposed to dead animals in order to learn, he said.
In response to ODT queries, Dunedin School of Art head of school Leoni Schmidt released a statement about the incident, but would not comment further.
"While we actively encourage our art students to express and push their creativity, there are ethical limits and boundaries that the Dunedin School of Art adheres to," she said.
Dunedin freelance art historian, critic and curator Peter Entwisle said it was all right to use dead animals or human body parts in artwork, providing they were handled properly, permission of the owner of such material was sought and potential viewers were warned of the content.
"With those conditions met there's certainly nothing unethical about it, and it may be part of an artistically successful work of art," Mr Entwisle said.
