Hannah Kieffer
Animal Kingdom
2020
2020
Hannah Kieffer is BFA candidate in design as well as a hobbyist 3D animator. Her capstone project, Animal Kingdom 2020, features a universe in which anthropomorphic animals and humans live and work together. Leroy the Tiger and Kesha the Koala are vying for the presidential nomination. Leroy sees humans as the root of climate change, while Tesha sees humans as a powerful force that can still be harnessed to end reverse environmental degradation.
Artist/Thesis Statement
This is a fictitious political party, taking place in a universe in which anthropomorphic animals and humans live and work together. It features two candidates who are fighting for the place of presidential nominee in the 2020 election: Leroy the Tiger, and Tesha the Koala. Both of their campaigns focus primarily on climate change, but the two of them have different ideas about stopping it. Leroy sees humans as the root of climate change, not to mention the death of other tigers’ habitats, as well as other animals. In order to stop climate change, he thinks environmental regulations should be taken out of the hands of humans and put in the paws of people who feel climate change’s effects firsthand. Tesha, on the other hand, sees humans as a powerful force that can still be harnessed to end climate change. If humans had the aid and input of billions of animals, climate change would be a thing of the past!
This campaign has a few goals: to inspire our generation to get angry about climate change, to be mindful of our politicians, and to consider those who may not have a voice. Just because animals can’t tell us they’re in pain because of climate change doesn’t mean they’re not. I imagine that if animals suddenly gained human levels of intelligence and communication, they would be outraged about what we’re doing with the planet, and no doubt some might demand vengeance. The question is, how do you make relinquishing control of something sound appealing to a group that’s had control? If humans were stewards of the planet no longer and animals were instead, would it be worth the shift? If it meant the earth could heal from environmental damage, would we change? This project illustrates an abbreviated version of what these two campaigns would look like, using websites, social media promotion, and merchandise.
Check out Leroy's website below!
Check out Tesha's website below!
