Red Horses of Mongolia is a new exhibition by Mongolian artist, Monkhor Erdenebayar, currently on show at Teo + Namfah Gallery in Bangkok. This is the first time that Bayar has exhibited in Thailand…A show about horses is no surprise if we hark back to the past of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. What is perhaps more surprising is the truly contemporary nature of Bayar’s work. Link via artThailand
Spluch reports on the ever-so-charming custom of horse fighting in China; no word on whether the loser gets eaten by the spectators. At least they aren’t ferrying bears around.
Deep Blue, originally uploaded by twistedbydesign.
From today’s New York Times: an overview of the historical and cultural factors behind eating horsemeat–or not. Many thanks to timethief for the story!
RECENTLY, an official for American Horse Defense Fund, which is a fervent supporter of bills now in the United States Congress that would ban slaughtering horses for meat, declared that “the foreign-owned slaughter industry needs to understand that Americans will never view horses as dinner.”
It’s a ringing statement, but it’s not an entirely accurate one. As much public support as the anti-slaughter bills have and as highly as we regard this animal as a companion, co-worker and patriotic symbol, Americans have made periodic forays into horse country, hungry for an alternative red meat.
During World War II and the postwar years, when beef and pork were scarce or priced beyond most consumers’ means, horsemeat appeared in the butcher’s cold case. In 1951, Time magazine reported from Portland, Ore.: “Horsemeat, hitherto eaten as a stunt or only as a last resort, was becoming an important item on Portland tables. Now there were three times as many horse butchers, selling three times as much meat.” Noting that “people who used to pretend it was for the dog now came right out and said it was going on the table,” the article provided tips for cooking pot roast of horse and equine fillets.
A similar situation unfolded in 1973, when inflation sent the cost of traditional meats soaring. Time reported that “Carlson’s, a butcher shop in Westbrook, Conn., that recently converted to horsemeat exclusively, now sells about 6,000 pounds of the stuff a day.” The shop was evangelical in its promotion of horse as a main course, producing a 28-page guide called “Carlson’s Horsemeat Cook Book,” with recipes for chili con carne, German meatballs, beery horsemeat and more. While no longer in print, the book is catalogued on Amazon.
Bridlepath
Bridlepath 