#position statement

In some sense, this is like someone saying "I will eliminate schizophrenia" (each of these phrases considers the thing in question a pathology), where unless you have a miracle pill you're ready to deploy tomorrow (which gives us an expected weighting of "up to what the miracle pill is capable of"), what comes next is wildly underspecified and one way to not have any schizophrenia is not to have any schizophrenics.

On June 10, 2022, the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS) issued a Position Statement on “antisemitism, antisemitic violence, and all bigotry and discrimination.” The statement reflects the urgency felt by NCSS members to respond to a spate of recent attacks on Jewish citizens and to a perceived increase in antisemitism in American society. It follows a 2020 resolution on antisemitism.  The current position statement encourages educators to examine their understanding of the Jewish people and consider what constitutes antisemitism.  

The position statement:  

– Includes the widely adopted IHRA definition of what constitutes antisemitism 

– Establishes that Jews are indigenous to the Middle East with their center of worship in Jerusalem

– Explains that Jews are a people comprised of individuals of diverse backgrounds and that grouping Jews as a race is prejudicial  

– Elucidates that education about the Holocaust must include teaching the history of antisemitism. This history is not limited to Europe or America but includes antisemitism emanating from the Middle East and North Africa.  

In conclusion, e-collar training is associated with numerous well documented risks concerning dog health, behaviour and welfare. Any existing behaviour problem is likely to deteriorate or an additional problem is likely to emerge, when such a collar is used. This becomes an even greater risk when this aversive tool is used by an unqualified trainer (as training is largely unregulated throughout the EU, it appears that a large number of trainers are unqualified).

Additionally, the efficacy of these collars has not been proven to be more effective than other alternatives such as positive training. Hence, ESVCE encourages education programmes which employ positive reinforcement methods (while avoiding positive punishment and negative reinforcement) thereby promoting positive dog welfare and a humane, ethical and moral approach to dog training at all times.

It is the position of the Pet Professional Guild that effective animal training procedures lay the foundation for an animal’s healthy socialization and training and helps prevent behavior problems. The general pet-owning public should be educated by organizations and associations to ensure pet animals live in nurturing and stable environments to better prevent behavior problems and help ensure the overall well-being of the animal. Consistent with this effort, it is the position of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) that the use of collars and leads that are intended to apply constriction, pressure, pain or force around a dog’s neck (such as choke chains and prong collars) should be avoided.

Though data demonstrating the exact damage that can be potentially caused by using choke and prong collars is incomplete, experience has shown that soft tissue injuries are common and, as is the case with any harsh training method, the damage to the animal-human relationship results. Studies and the experience of the PPG’s membership finds that training and behavior problems are consistently and effectively solved without the use of choke or prong collars with the alternative methods reinforcing the animal-human bond. Evidence indicates that rather than speeding the learning process, harsh training methods actually slow the training process, add to the animal’s stress and can result in both short-term and long-term psychological damage to animals.

Common problems which can result from the use of choke and prong collars:

Physical problems

While precise information on the potential damage caused by the use of choke and prong collars is still being collected, there are many cases of dogs suffering soft tissue damage, eye problems, strangulation (leading to death), tracheal/esophageal damage and neurological problems resulting from the use of choke/prong collars.

Training Fallout

Choke chains and prong collars are designed to administer negative reinforcement and positive punishment. Training techniques based in these two learning theory quadrants are prone to side effects. As an example, a dog wearing a choke or prong collar that fearfully barks and lunges at another dog would then be choked or pain inflicted by the prong collar. The pain and choking then adds to the negative association the dog wearing the collar has with other dogs. This is the polar opposite of what an ideal training protocol is designed to accomplish.

Even if a dog is free of reactivity issues, using a choke or prong is less than ideal. Today there are many effective alternatives available for training and management of skills where choke and prong collars have been traditionally used for teaching loose-leash-walking and formal/precision heel training

Conclusion

This has been an existential journey and a huge test of character.  When lockdown struck I felt my creativity abandoned me.  My original intention for 203 was to further the watercolour monoprint process I researched in 201 and find a way to build structure.  Initially, I was unclear how my printmaking practice could continue.  At the same time I was writing my GCOP essay, this based on collaboration, which I also wanted to pursue during this module, this too felt impossible.

In January, Cate Rogers and I embarked on some collaborative initiatives, to resolve work made last year. We made a large mixed media diptych ‘Disparate’, inspired by the work of Jasper Johns (Johns, no date) and Julie Mehretu.(Cube, no date)  This we entered into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  As lockdown took hold I looked for ways to collaborate, being in isolation made this feel impossible.  It was only when I opted to abandon this idea I found myself free of the conundrum.  I began baking sourdough bread, which seemed a ridiculous distraction but I now see it was my creativity coming out in other ways.  Shortages of baking supplies and other items were an issue and it was hard to buy flour, eggs and toilet rolls.  A briefing at college recommended ‘use what you have around you’, so I started to experiment making hand manipulated prints of these products and packaging on my new printer, in fact I was creating a form of lockdown arte povera.(Tate, no date)  I attended Workshop Wednesday sessions looking at artist book making and I saw a method for developing printmaking and investigating form.  I researched deeply the demediated books of Siobhan Piercy (Sioban Piercy | Visual Artist - Sculptures and Installations, no date)  I also looked into work I had seen at the Venice Biennale 2019, specifically of Suki Seokyeong Kang, whose sculptural installations represent ‘expanded painting’. (Suki Seokyeong Kang | Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, no date)  It was announced that submission work would be required digitally, I had just purchased a new large scale printer, which now would be superfluous.  I decided to use the printer to make manipulated prints.  These prints have been used as an enquiry into artistic form and inspiration taken from the artist book/sculptural work of Siobhan Piercy.  I researched the artist Sol LeWitt, who produced instructions for wall drawings, a form of remote collaboration. (Sol LeWitt’s Instruction for Wondrous Walls - Improvised Life, 2015) LeWitt also took part in conceptual work by art curator Seth Siegelaub, “Xerox Book’,(ARTtube, 2016) this gave weight to the validity of prints made on a home printer.  I deepened my enquiry into this process and eventually made a series of hand manipulated layered prints using egg boxes on fine art paper.  My narrative of using items from around the home and my lockdown journey. Covid-19 has made me change the methods in my practice, but it has not changed my path.  It has forced me to dig deeper into my creativity, be more resilient and helped to understand myself better as an artist.  The experience of being part time has helped me to adapt to the new situation and to be more resourceful and self sufficient.  I have achieved my goal to develop my printmaking skills further and have discovered new ideas for collaboration.  My intention for level six is to continue my enquiry into form by way of everyday objects, artist books and to pick up the theme of collaboration.   Also to experiment more with colour and take more risks in colour combinations.  I will do this with the theme of ‘expanded printmaking’ and plan to reincorporate painting into my practice.

Reference List

ARTtube, (2016). Seth Siegelaub: Beyond Conceptual Art. Youtube. [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XITXYVx8O9I. [Accessed on 19/05/2020]

Cube, W., (no date). White Cube - Artists - Julie Mehretu. [Online]. Available at https://whitecube.com/artists/artist/julie_mehretu. [Accessed on 03/06/2020]

Johns, J., (no date). Jasper Johns. Map. 1961. [Online]. Available at https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79372. [Accessed on 03/06/2020]

Sioban Piercy | Visual Artist - Sculptures and Installations (no date). [Online]. Available at http://www.siobanpiercy.co.uk/index.php/works/books-folded-drawings-constructions. [Accessed on 15/05/2020]

Sol LeWitt’s Instruction for Wondrous Walls - Improvised Life (2015). [Online]. Available at https://improvisedlife.com/2015/08/10/learning-stealing-sol-lewitt/. [Accessed on 25/05/2020]

Suki Seokyeong Kang | Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art (no date). [Online]. Available at https://biennial.com/2018/exhibition/artists/suki-seokyeong-kang. [Accessed on 08/06/2020]

I don’t care for whammy bars on guitars. That does not mean that whammy bars are ugly or evil. Or that whammy bar users are godless commies. (Although statistically...)

I don’t really care for cafe racer style motorcycles. That doesn’t mean that people who like cafe racers are wrong headed and confused about motorcycle fundamentals.

I have never liked the music of Neil Diamond or of John Denver. That has never made them bad people or even bad songwriters. And their fans seem to be nice  folks.

My personal taste and opinions do not constitute absolute values that I or anybody else may impose on others. And you may not impose your taste and opinions on me. There are absolute values in this world but most of those are supported by the math.

It’s okay. Really. Relax.

Now let’s wait for the trolls.

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