Aspen Art Museum Shuts down iPad-toting Tortoise Exhibit

The good news is that the Aspen Art Museum shut down its exhibit of wandering African tortoises and sent them to a tortoise sanctuary in a warmer climate. The bad news is that the international publicity generated by this controversy could trigger other artists and museums to use animals as a way of drawing attention to themselves. The museum, which has, in essence, been rewarded for exploiting animals, says that their decision to close the exhibit a month early was based on the cold forecast, not the protests.

Photo: Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

While the publicity surrounding the tortoises might be the reason why the “exhibit” was shut down, it might also be the reason why other artists decide to exploit animals. In fact, we don’t need to look far to see a more recent example. A NYC-based fashion designer has received far more attention than he otherwise would because he is using horse-drawn carriages as part of his runway show in early September. If the activists ignore the exploiters, then they won’t get the attention they want. On the flip side, the animals won’t get the help they need.