NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS.- In the first large-scale art exhibition to explore the closing gap between human and animal existence, MASS MoCA is presenting the work of 12 artists from five countries in a major show. The exhibition -- Becoming Animal: Art in the Animal Kingdom will include large-scale sculpture, paintings, drawings, video installation and major new commissions from Mark Dion and Natalie Jeremijenko and Phil Taylor and work by Jane Alexander, Rachel Berwick, Brian Conley, Sam Easterson, Kathy High, Nicolas Lampert, Michael Oatman, Motohiko Odani, Patricia Piccinini, and Ann-Sofi Sidén (in her largest ever showing in the United States.)

“In a world that is increasingly urban, technological, and transnational, animals are nevertheless insinuating their presence into human life in all sorts of surprising new ways, “ said the exhibition’s curator Nato Thompson. “We are gaining knowledge about the subtleties and range of animal communications. The human genome project has illustrated just how close we are -- biologically speaking -- to the simplest forms of animal life. Mad Cow disease and bird flu have made us hypersensitive to the complexities of cross-species viral infection and food chain issues. The artists in Becoming Animal are fascinated by this thin membrane separating human and animal life, by the character of animals, by our love for animals, but also by the human capacity to treat animals with disdain and willful negligence.”

Occupying the second and third floors of MASS MoCA’s Building 10, the exhibition will run through February 2006. The exhibition is accompanied by a 132-page hard-cover, full-color catalog with essays by exhibition curator Nato Thompson and Christoph Cox. Major support for the exhibition and related programs provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Citigroup.