Ed Panar: Animals That Saw Me

“From chicken to sheep, frogs to dogs, each of the creatures seems to ask: “You looking at me? Who are you?” –American Photo Animals That Saw Me, Volume Two presents a new collection of photographs from the observational wanderings of Ed Panar, author of Animals That Saw Me, Volume One (2011, now out of print). This body of work, encompassing recent pictures and newly discovered gems from Panar’s vast back catalogue, records a series of brief, often strangely amusing moments in which nonhuman species (mammal, reptile, bird or insect) seem to behold the human photographer. Edited for the viewer’s maximum delight, the photos convey a whimsical concept with surprisingly complex ramifications under the surface. Why do we distinguish between “us” and “them,” and what exists in the space between these distinctions? What does it mean to make “eye contact” with another species? What does the presence of a camera add to this phenomenon? Channeling the same thoughtful humor, wonder and peculiar engagement with the world that made the first volume of Animals That Saw Me an instant hit, this second installment also includes an original essay by acclaimed speculative realist philosopher Timothy Morton.