Abstract
The architectural design of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark marked a dramatic reinvention in the exhibition of animals, altering public perceptions of animal displays and zoological gardens significantly. In the earlier zoological gardens of the 1800s the exhibitions had predominantly displayed the animals within caged structures. However, after the construction of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark, the focus shifted to a vision of the animals within a natural scene. The exhibition was no longer just
about the animals; it was also about the context in which the animals were being displayed. Animal enclosures underwent an aesthetic overhaul in the architectural design of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark. No longer resembling prison cells, the enclosures were constructed to resemble the natural environment in a collection of semigeographical panoramas. While the enclosures still functioned as a cage, restricting the freedom of the captives, the overall impression was of a group of animals at liberty to move around within a natural setting. The enclosures and the animals were no longer separate entities: Hagenbeck’s Tierpark amalgamated them as one display, and in doing so, gave shape to a culturally acceptable vision of animals in captivity that is still utilized in zoological gardens today. Hagenbeck’s Tierpark was a site of powerful contradictions and illusions. By exhibiting the animals in a show of geographical groupings, the Tierpark cultivated an impression of authenticity despite the fact that the enclosures were only a theatrical stage, a charade of nature. The Hagenbeck Tierpark was in effect a staging of the zoo, a zoological theme park, so much so, there is some debate over its early qualification as a zoo. Nonetheless, this chapter takes the position that the architectural design of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark had a lasting influence on the typology of zoological gardens and shaped future cultural understandings about what constitutes an acceptable form of animal exhibition.
about the animals; it was also about the context in which the animals were being displayed. Animal enclosures underwent an aesthetic overhaul in the architectural design of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark. No longer resembling prison cells, the enclosures were constructed to resemble the natural environment in a collection of semigeographical panoramas. While the enclosures still functioned as a cage, restricting the freedom of the captives, the overall impression was of a group of animals at liberty to move around within a natural setting. The enclosures and the animals were no longer separate entities: Hagenbeck’s Tierpark amalgamated them as one display, and in doing so, gave shape to a culturally acceptable vision of animals in captivity that is still utilized in zoological gardens today. Hagenbeck’s Tierpark was a site of powerful contradictions and illusions. By exhibiting the animals in a show of geographical groupings, the Tierpark cultivated an impression of authenticity despite the fact that the enclosures were only a theatrical stage, a charade of nature. The Hagenbeck Tierpark was in effect a staging of the zoo, a zoological theme park, so much so, there is some debate over its early qualification as a zoo. Nonetheless, this chapter takes the position that the architectural design of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark had a lasting influence on the typology of zoological gardens and shaped future cultural understandings about what constitutes an acceptable form of animal exhibition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Humans and Animals: Intersecting Lives and Worlds |
| Editors | Anja Höing, Arieahn Matamonasa Bennett |
| Place of Publication | Oxford UK |
| Publisher | Inter-Disciplinary Press |
| Pages | 115-124 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781848884090 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Hagenbeck’s Tierpark
- animal exhibitions
- cultural understandings
- zoological gardens
- animal captivity
- natural settings
- colonialism
- architectural history