“The manipulation of life is one of the oldest and most popularly neglected forms of cultural production. Yet it is evident in prehistoric cave dwellings, organic vegetable gardens, concentrated animal feeding operations, and myriad other sites and scenes. PostNatural History is the study of the origins, habitats, and evolution of organisms that have been intentionally altered by humans through captivity, breeding, or engineering. These lifeforms relay stories that challenge and transform our understanding of human culture.”
This Is NOT An Artifact catalogs 16 years of investigation by the Center for PostNatural History. Featuring essays and photography by founder Rich Pell, and a catalog of PostNatural organisms featuring contributions by Center for Genomic Gastronomy, Terike Haapoja & Laura Gustafsson, Steve Rowell, Nicholas Daly, Ian Nagoski, Roderick Williams, and Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr. Includes 3D glasses.
This Is NOT An Artifact catalogs 16 years of investigation by the Center for PostNatural History. Featuring essays and photography by founder Rich Pell, and a catalog of PostNatural organisms featuring contributions by Center for Genomic Gastronomy, Terike Haapoja & Laura Gustafsson, Steve Rowell, Nicholas Daly, Ian Nagoski, Roderick Williams, and Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr. Includes 3D glasses.
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“Visually lush and beautifully written... natural history museums would do well to use Rich Pell’s brilliant book as a road map.”
- Mark Dion, natural history-artist
“Once you start to see the world of domesticated animals and genetically engineered organisms as postnatural, you won't look back! A fascinating and eccentric read.”
- Heather Dewey-Hagborg, bio-artist
“A beautiful and intensely thought-provoking guidebook to the marvels, disquietudes, and absurdities of a world where distinctions between nature, technology, and human intervention have largely ceased to exist.”
- Trevor Paglen, experimental cartographer-artist
“This book is designed to unmake a made-up mind.”
- Critical Art Ensemble, art-activists
“Truth is weirder than fiction—and nowhere is that truer than in this book. “
- The Yes Men, activist-pranksters
“A captivating collection of vignettes, This Is NOT An Artifact explores a surreal world of life driven by human design.“
- Chris Voigt, MIT Biological Engineering
Edited by Etienne Turpin.
Design by Wolfgang Hückel & K. Verlag
English
18 x 24 cm
440 pages
Color images
Hardcover, thread-stitching
ISBN 978-3-947858-36-1
Published in 2024 by K. Verlag