Gladiators of Beauty in South Central, Los Angeles 
Fahim Amir 

Philosopher and author Fahim Amir follows an unusual approach that reexamines the boundaries between the sphere of the political and the animal world. Amir makes clear that rethinking the interconnections between humans and animals can lead to interesting perspectives on the world, making animals in particular visible as part of political and social struggles.

Fahim Amir’s lecture turns to the video works of Yalda Afsah, addressing the identification potential of various animals for cultural subgroups. Special attention is paid to the work SSRC (2022), which deals with pigeon breeders in Compton, a socially deprived suburb of Los Angeles. Culturally and historically, pigeons are often associated with negative aspects such as dirt and disease, whereas the pigeon racing sport of Pigeon Rolling in Compton, is a positive force for the communities. Pigeon rolling is based on a natural behavior of pigeons: in an inexplicable way, they perform daring backward rolls in flight. These maneuvers unfold a beauty of their own that makes it impossible to reduce the animals’ behavior to mere survival. The care and closeness to the pigeons often forms an escape from the gang violence in Compton for the breeders. Thus, a new form of community emerges in which rivalry does not play a central role and which would not be possible without pigeon rolling.

 

You can participate in the online event via Zoom:
https://​us06web​.zoom​.us/​j​/​8​4​2​5​7​5​35898