Notes on More Than Human

Created: Mon Sep 15 2025

'more than human' first mentioned in 1996 by David Abram in "The Spell of the Sensuous" to signify that this world, this earth, not only contains us but that we also depend on what's beyond us. (pg. 11)

“Can the audience for an artwork be more-than-human?” (pg. 208) If there are clothes, accessories and toys for animals, is it a too much of a leap to consider that animals could appreciate art? Then the question is, can bees have an aesthetic experience? And what kind of evidence would point to this? But at the same time, do we need to know if they can enjoy art? Well, then would we not be doing it just out of human interest if we didn’t know if they could enjoy it? So in that sense, we are not making artwork for the more-than-human entities.

MCGUIRK, Justin (ed.), 2025. More than human: making with the living world exhibition catalogue. First edition. London : Design Museum Publishing. ISBN 978-1-872005-86-7.