Molly Getz, 29, is an artist who lives and works between Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Co-founder of an artist run project space ‘take care’ in Los Angeles.
On long drives through the countryside I spent a lot of time staring out the window at all the cows dotting the land. In observing them I realized just how distanced I had become from them, and this distance had become tacit acceptance of their brutal and inhumane treatment. It awakened in me a sense of reverence for them– they are these incredibly gentle, intelligent and loving beings/mothers. How could I re-contextualize my relationship to them? What other ways had I been distancing myself, and what were the consequences of this separation?
I’ve been reflecting a lot on fertility, love, compassion, motherhood, and gentleness… and yet the exploitation that runs parallel. It’s emphatically not to focus on the horrible, rather it’s me trying to celebrate and offer solemn attention to the beings in our periphery that mean us no harm.