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ISSUE 07

#LendAnEar

"It is absurd for a man to kill an elephant... It is not heroic, and certainly it is not easy; it is just one of those preposterous things that men do." — BERYL MARKHAM, "West With the Night"

a geometric rendition of an elephant
THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM The University of Central Oklahoma’s Department of Design hosted Design to Protect Elephants, at the Letterpress & Prototyping Lab in Edmond, Oklahoma. Not only was the artwork designed to protest and raise awareness about the slaughter of the African Elephant, the posters were screenprinted on site and sold at the exhibition.

AS CONSERVATIONISTS OFTEN say, no one needs an ivory tusk except an elephant. University of Central Oklahoma College of Fine Arts and Design, as well as local professional designers, collaborated to bring light to the slaughter of the African elephant through striking, thought-provoking design. #LendAnEar uses Oklahoma designers as an outlet for a powerful animal-welfare message with a global objective.

In 2013 WildAid, an international conservation group, launched a campaign to raise awareness of the worldwide demand for ivory—a crisis decimating the population of bush and forest elephants. WildAid proposed that 2016 would be the Year of the Elephant. The goal is to save elephants from extinction by reducing consumer demand for ivory in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Design to Protect Elephants was created by Amy Johnson, UCO design professor and department chair. Now in partnership with WildAid and design historian John Clifford, she assembles designers and their communication talents to speak on behalf of the gentle giants who cannot speak for themselves.

Johnson recruited student designers and local design firms to contribute to the movement. She first presented the concept at the Kirkpatrick Foundation’s ANIMAL Conference in 2015, explaining the burden of responsibility that rests on creatives who have the power of mass communication. “What if I don’t have to quit my job to guard elephants? What if I could convince designers to use their superpowers of persuasion to help in the fight by raising funds and awareness? That would be good! That would be something!,” Johnson says.

SAVING A SPECIES NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD.

Anderson elephants
McKENNA SANDERSON of the University of Central Oklahoma’s graphic-design department
Sdesigninc sarahmsears Instagram DPE
SARAH SEARS of S Design in Oklahoma City
Elephant WyleeSanderson
UCO student WYLEE SANDERSON
book cover for The Oklahoma Animal Study

The Oklahoma Animal Study

In 2012, the Kirkpatrick Foundation launched “Safe and Humane,” an initiative to make Oklahoma the safest and most humane place to be an animal by 2032. In February 2016, after three years of research, interviews, and fact checking the first comprehensive study on the welfare of animals in Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Animal Study, was published. Kristy Wicker, principal investigator, and Manda Overturf Shank, co-author, examine factors such as economics, politics, and the environment to determine the condition of Oklahoma’s wildlife, companion animals, equines, exotics, farm animals, and lab animals. The study also explores how Oklahomans in rural and urban settings interact with, view, and respect animals.

The Oklahoma Animal Study is available in libraries across the state, and online at safeandhumaneoklahoma.org. To request a free copy, please contact the foundation at office@kirkpatrickfoundation.com.