Raising pigs: A Q&A
Xu Bing
What considerations go into the pig-sty’s facilities and the selection of the pigs?
The ideal site is a downtown gallery or museum turned into a pigsty. The site’s area should be no less than 150M2, with a side-pen for tending to the sow separately. The exhibition hall’s central pen should be made of steel, measuring 40M2 and square in shape. In the place of dirt, fill the pen with literature (every 40 M2 requires approximately 800 Kilos of books). One corner of the pig-pen should be used for grain, while another corner should have two gates. One of these gates is for the use of the animal handlers and the other gate connects a path to the side-pen allowing the two pigs to be herded together during the exhibition. This path needs to have a definite length with gates at either end so as to ensure quiet rest for the boar.
Pig Selection: they should be heavy, 250-300 catties, white with fine skin and sparse hair is best. The variety should be a first generation cross-breed of the American York (father’s side) and Chinese Changbai (mothers side), raised in China is best. This breed has the ideal combination of Eastern and Western genes; it is physically strong; it has a large average litter size (12 piglets) and possesses a high lean meat ratio (62%), conforming to the trends of contemporary life.
How do you control the pigs going into heat?
This is crucial, but the onset is completely uncontrollable. Findings: every twenty days a sow has one estrous cycle, lasting around three days. In this respect humans and pigs are different. But some data points to the fact that the earliest human females also had estrous cycles, and it is my belief that the long term effects of emotional, rational and utilitarian “acculturation” have disrupted this cycle.
As long as a boar is an appropriate age and healthy, he has the potency to do it any time. In this respect humans and pigs are the same. A good breed of boar can complete this duty twice a day, and that is why he is called “gong” zhu (“public” pig). An experienced pig farmer said to me, “A sow in heat can wait with patience for a boar to climb on top of her, but if she is not in heat she simply will not let the boar do it.” But I sought two pigs that would, at the same time, both perform without yielding and copulate fully in the exhibition hall. “Exchange” must be substantive. This is difficult to achieve, and even the pig-breeders were at a loss. For this reason, I had to schedule the exhibition on a day between when the sow had last gone into heat and when she was next going into heat.
When selecting pigs, you must inspect the sow’s case history, making a rigorous analysis. This comes first. Second, you must select a young boar. Select it twenty days before the show, tend to it in its own pen, and provide it with high grade feed. Have breeding technicians set up a mounting frame (a fake pig) and a suitable training regimen for contact with the sow at regular intervals, both to cultivate and control the boar’s libido. “A boar that has never met a sow doesn't know how to screw, just doesn't understand it. A young boar that has had contact with a sow a few times has the strongest sex drive” explained the experienced pig farmer. Third, you should use the sow that the boar likes the most. When I began the selection process, I tried two sows, and the boar didn’t react, I thought the boar had a problem, but as I prepared to switch him out, another sow came by and it was love at first sight. Originally pigs were also choosy; it wasn’t as if any pig would do. In this way too pigs and people are alike
When employed, these three points guarantee the best results. The boar will work diligently, the sow will persevere, both in tacit cooperation. Finally, the boar will fall down tired, and the sow will return to teasing him. It’s really interesting. In terms of animality, people and animals are very much alike.
What will you do if, after having changed the natural habitat of the pigs, they won’t perform?
This was my greatest concern at the time. Even the pig farm technicians and experts didn’t have control over it. But I had to take this kind of primitive, animal (albeit the most ordinary) behavior and transfer it to a so-called cultured environment. Many respectably dressed people and cameras faced the pigs, and watched their copulation, formulating scholarly modern art events, and philosophizing about problems of culture and art. This is absurd and is, in and of itself, worthy of research. In the full glare of flashbulbs, the two pigs “make love” to their hearts content. They needn’t worry about contraceptives or aids, even less about the issue of sexual misconduct. It is truly as if no one were watching; the crowd was not present in their eyes at all. In the same way, there is nothing so spectacular about Madonna; she merely uses the inhibitions of cultured people to create a reputation for herself. People who face them are bewildered; they seem ill at ease and unnatural. Our original worries about the pigs were unnecessary, they came from our own hang ups; the problem of embarrassment fundamentally doesn’t exist for them.
This is the worthwhile result: an environment that people have altered and arranged for the pigs nevertheless places people in an awkward position. As a result of this perversion of the environment what is exposed is not the maladjustment of the pig, but the maladjustment of the person. So some people say that those who view this work (including myself) have been had. In reality this sense of being fooled is the result of our own culture, and like my other works, has no effect on an uncultured person. I have also heard that some young women had a feeling of physical discomfort after viewing the work, a kind of physical dread. In the presence of such primordial directness we don’t know what to do because we are used to everything being smothered in culture. Of course some of my friends were amused; they seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
After all, this work provides people with a place for introspection, seeing two pigs’ coitus we ponder human issues.
How did you print on the pigs?
If a work has a degree of difficulty, then making it is interesting. People can listen, and objects can be arranged; only animals don’t have “culture,” and it is impossible for our two languages to communicate. The earliest plan was to print letters on people; I thought about this for years, but never acted on it. I always felt that the idea didn’t hit home. On the one hand the method of using real people in an exhibition space is simple, but as it is too direct there is the problem of misdirection. On the other hand if we used photos or video media to transfer the act to the exhibition space it would again be simple, but too removed. Printing the characters on an animal, however, is replete with allusions to species, evolution, civilization, communication and a sense of mixing. It embodies a sense of the concept of culture as a kind of tattoo. Two things completely without human consciousness, but bearing symbols of culture, diligently communicate in the most instinctual fashion. This kind of simplicity and directness reaches a degree of incomprehensibility that is worth comprehending.
Before beginning work everything is an uncertainty. First one needs to go to a veterinary specialist and familiarize oneself with the degree of receptivity of a pig’s skin, whether or not printing the characters will have any harmful reactions or lead to unforeseen problems. Another issue is anesthetization. Anesthetizing a pig is very specialized. If one uses inhalated ether to anesthetize a large animal for a long period of time, then one has to work in a laboratory using complex equipment. While the level of intravenously injected anesthetic compound is strictly measured according to the weight of the pig, the result for some pigs is unstable. The best kind of anesthetic, called Chloretone, is imported, but it only last for an hour and a half. If the pig does not void it bowels, then you cannot continue wit the anesthetization, otherwise the pig will be poisoned. Therefore one ought to chose printing pigments that are toxin-free, quick drying and permanent. One has to first consider every type of possibility and perform repeated experiments, so as to ensure successful completion within a limited timeframe.
In the end, what will be done with the two pigs?
The earliest and the most civilized plan was to return them to nature, but this was also the most problematic. Because, in point of fact, these pigs are no longer able to return, everywhere is a human affected environment. People can’t naturally coexist with pigs anymore. No one will allow me to unleash two pigs in Wang Fu Jin (we envisaged this as a part of the plan). Moreover, as they have been domesticated over many generations, the pigs have already lost self-sufficiency in the midst of a truly natural state. They resemble any many made product, whether it be plastic or flesh. People advocate the protection of animals by giving them the freedom to return to nature, but having already been alienated for the benefit of man they are no longer natural swine. Indeed, before me, they had already been tattooed by something called “civilization.”
The process of “Raising Pigs” is an experimental process. It is animal experimentation grounded in sociology and it raises a number of questions.
‘Yang zhu wenda’ [Raising pigs: A Q&A], Heipi shu [Black cover book], no. 1 (1994), 85-90. Reprinted in Hsiung Shih meishu, no. 285 (November 1994), 80-81.
Xu Bing
What considerations go into the pig-sty’s facilities and the selection of the pigs?
The ideal site is a downtown gallery or museum turned into a pigsty. The site’s area should be no less than 150M2, with a side-pen for tending to the sow separately. The exhibition hall’s central pen should be made of steel, measuring 40M2 and square in shape. In the place of dirt, fill the pen with literature (every 40 M2 requires approximately 800 Kilos of books). One corner of the pig-pen should be used for grain, while another corner should have two gates. One of these gates is for the use of the animal handlers and the other gate connects a path to the side-pen allowing the two pigs to be herded together during the exhibition. This path needs to have a definite length with gates at either end so as to ensure quiet rest for the boar.
Pig Selection: they should be heavy, 250-300 catties, white with fine skin and sparse hair is best. The variety should be a first generation cross-breed of the American York (father’s side) and Chinese Changbai (mothers side), raised in China is best. This breed has the ideal combination of Eastern and Western genes; it is physically strong; it has a large average litter size (12 piglets) and possesses a high lean meat ratio (62%), conforming to the trends of contemporary life.
How do you control the pigs going into heat?
This is crucial, but the onset is completely uncontrollable. Findings: every twenty days a sow has one estrous cycle, lasting around three days. In this respect humans and pigs are different. But some data points to the fact that the earliest human females also had estrous cycles, and it is my belief that the long term effects of emotional, rational and utilitarian “acculturation” have disrupted this cycle.
As long as a boar is an appropriate age and healthy, he has the potency to do it any time. In this respect humans and pigs are the same. A good breed of boar can complete this duty twice a day, and that is why he is called “gong” zhu (“public” pig). An experienced pig farmer said to me, “A sow in heat can wait with patience for a boar to climb on top of her, but if she is not in heat she simply will not let the boar do it.” But I sought two pigs that would, at the same time, both perform without yielding and copulate fully in the exhibition hall. “Exchange” must be substantive. This is difficult to achieve, and even the pig-breeders were at a loss. For this reason, I had to schedule the exhibition on a day between when the sow had last gone into heat and when she was next going into heat.
When selecting pigs, you must inspect the sow’s case history, making a rigorous analysis. This comes first. Second, you must select a young boar. Select it twenty days before the show, tend to it in its own pen, and provide it with high grade feed. Have breeding technicians set up a mounting frame (a fake pig) and a suitable training regimen for contact with the sow at regular intervals, both to cultivate and control the boar’s libido. “A boar that has never met a sow doesn't know how to screw, just doesn't understand it. A young boar that has had contact with a sow a few times has the strongest sex drive” explained the experienced pig farmer. Third, you should use the sow that the boar likes the most. When I began the selection process, I tried two sows, and the boar didn’t react, I thought the boar had a problem, but as I prepared to switch him out, another sow came by and it was love at first sight. Originally pigs were also choosy; it wasn’t as if any pig would do. In this way too pigs and people are alike
When employed, these three points guarantee the best results. The boar will work diligently, the sow will persevere, both in tacit cooperation. Finally, the boar will fall down tired, and the sow will return to teasing him. It’s really interesting. In terms of animality, people and animals are very much alike.
What will you do if, after having changed the natural habitat of the pigs, they won’t perform?
This was my greatest concern at the time. Even the pig farm technicians and experts didn’t have control over it. But I had to take this kind of primitive, animal (albeit the most ordinary) behavior and transfer it to a so-called cultured environment. Many respectably dressed people and cameras faced the pigs, and watched their copulation, formulating scholarly modern art events, and philosophizing about problems of culture and art. This is absurd and is, in and of itself, worthy of research. In the full glare of flashbulbs, the two pigs “make love” to their hearts content. They needn’t worry about contraceptives or aids, even less about the issue of sexual misconduct. It is truly as if no one were watching; the crowd was not present in their eyes at all. In the same way, there is nothing so spectacular about Madonna; she merely uses the inhibitions of cultured people to create a reputation for herself. People who face them are bewildered; they seem ill at ease and unnatural. Our original worries about the pigs were unnecessary, they came from our own hang ups; the problem of embarrassment fundamentally doesn’t exist for them.
This is the worthwhile result: an environment that people have altered and arranged for the pigs nevertheless places people in an awkward position. As a result of this perversion of the environment what is exposed is not the maladjustment of the pig, but the maladjustment of the person. So some people say that those who view this work (including myself) have been had. In reality this sense of being fooled is the result of our own culture, and like my other works, has no effect on an uncultured person. I have also heard that some young women had a feeling of physical discomfort after viewing the work, a kind of physical dread. In the presence of such primordial directness we don’t know what to do because we are used to everything being smothered in culture. Of course some of my friends were amused; they seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
After all, this work provides people with a place for introspection, seeing two pigs’ coitus we ponder human issues.
How did you print on the pigs?
If a work has a degree of difficulty, then making it is interesting. People can listen, and objects can be arranged; only animals don’t have “culture,” and it is impossible for our two languages to communicate. The earliest plan was to print letters on people; I thought about this for years, but never acted on it. I always felt that the idea didn’t hit home. On the one hand the method of using real people in an exhibition space is simple, but as it is too direct there is the problem of misdirection. On the other hand if we used photos or video media to transfer the act to the exhibition space it would again be simple, but too removed. Printing the characters on an animal, however, is replete with allusions to species, evolution, civilization, communication and a sense of mixing. It embodies a sense of the concept of culture as a kind of tattoo. Two things completely without human consciousness, but bearing symbols of culture, diligently communicate in the most instinctual fashion. This kind of simplicity and directness reaches a degree of incomprehensibility that is worth comprehending.
Before beginning work everything is an uncertainty. First one needs to go to a veterinary specialist and familiarize oneself with the degree of receptivity of a pig’s skin, whether or not printing the characters will have any harmful reactions or lead to unforeseen problems. Another issue is anesthetization. Anesthetizing a pig is very specialized. If one uses inhalated ether to anesthetize a large animal for a long period of time, then one has to work in a laboratory using complex equipment. While the level of intravenously injected anesthetic compound is strictly measured according to the weight of the pig, the result for some pigs is unstable. The best kind of anesthetic, called Chloretone, is imported, but it only last for an hour and a half. If the pig does not void it bowels, then you cannot continue wit the anesthetization, otherwise the pig will be poisoned. Therefore one ought to chose printing pigments that are toxin-free, quick drying and permanent. One has to first consider every type of possibility and perform repeated experiments, so as to ensure successful completion within a limited timeframe.
In the end, what will be done with the two pigs?
The earliest and the most civilized plan was to return them to nature, but this was also the most problematic. Because, in point of fact, these pigs are no longer able to return, everywhere is a human affected environment. People can’t naturally coexist with pigs anymore. No one will allow me to unleash two pigs in Wang Fu Jin (we envisaged this as a part of the plan). Moreover, as they have been domesticated over many generations, the pigs have already lost self-sufficiency in the midst of a truly natural state. They resemble any many made product, whether it be plastic or flesh. People advocate the protection of animals by giving them the freedom to return to nature, but having already been alienated for the benefit of man they are no longer natural swine. Indeed, before me, they had already been tattooed by something called “civilization.”
The process of “Raising Pigs” is an experimental process. It is animal experimentation grounded in sociology and it raises a number of questions.
‘Yang zhu wenda’ [Raising pigs: A Q&A], Heipi shu [Black cover book], no. 1 (1994), 85-90. Reprinted in Hsiung Shih meishu, no. 285 (November 1994), 80-81.