earth dot sky

Filmmaker and Installation Artist Roberto Mighty, MFA, is America’s first cemetery Artist-in-Residence, and the inaugural resident artist at Mount Auburn Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark and America’s first garden cemetery. His 'earth.sky' installation features films and multimedia in an immersive, computer controlled, multi projector traveling exhibit now available for museums worldwide. earth.sky "Friends of The Animals" Interred: George Angell and Emily Appleton Note: Pioneering animal rights advocate and his advocacy partner George Thorndike Angell (1823 – 1909) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and advocate for the humane treatment of animals. Emily Warren Appleton (1818 – 1905) was a Boston socialite with a passionate concern about animal cruelty. Appleton was already nurturing an American anti-animal cruelty movement when she saw a letter in the Boston Daily Advertiser from George Thorndike Angell protesting animal cruelty. Within a month, with Appleton's backing, Angell incorporated the society. Appleton was excluded from executive participation in the society she helped found.* However, they continued to work together, with Appleton behind the scenes, for many years. Artist Statement One often hears the phrase, “Behind every great man there is a great woman”. While the phrase may be steeped in anachronistic societal limitations, the fact remains that women have often played pivotal roles in the achievements of famous men. In this case, my readings about and musings on George Thorndike Angell - who is a legend - eventually led me to Emily Appleton - who has largely been forgotten. I was overjoyed to discover that she, like Angell, is also buried at Mount Auburn. For this piece, I filmed, photographed and recorded sounds around Angell’s monument and Appleton’s grave (shared with her husband, William) over two years and four seasons. It was a pleasure directing actor Rick Winterson in his voice performance of Angell’s letters and autobiographical passages. I made extensive use of sound effects and music to accentuate shifting moods in the storytelling. In selecting the text for this piece, I wanted to emphasize Angell’s boyhood love of animals, rage at their mistreatment, and adroit handling of the legislative process. In the time allotted for this project, I was unable to find statements by Appleton herself. However, contemporary accounts indicate that she greatly preferred to remain in the background, out of the public eye.The title, “Friends of the Animals”, is a play on Angell’s 1909 New York Times obituary, in which he was termed “Friend of the Animals” - Roberto Mighty Credits for this Piece Director Cinematographer Editor Roberto Mighty, MFA Artist-in-Residence Mount Auburn Cemetery Voice of George Angell Rick Winterson Recorded and Edited at Celestial Media Studios, Boston Humanities Scholar Victoria Cain, Ph.D. IMAGES Commonwealth of Massachusetts Archives M.S.P.C.A. Act of Incorporation The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals American Social Science Association Annual Meeting Pamphlet, 1874 Collection of Mary Alexander Stereograph view of the Boston State House Wikimedia Commons Additional Research For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Diane L. Beers The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 Andrew C. Isenberg The Gospel of Kindness: Animal Welfare and the Making of Modern America Janet M. Davis Autobiographical Sketches and Personal Reflections George Thorndike Angell Sound Effects freesoundfx.com.uk Music Bach Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor Colin Carr Courtesy of freemusicarchive Lee Rosevere Nightlight Courtesy of freemusicarchive Young Lieutenant After 24 Hours on Duty Goes Home Porc OPine Courtesy of freemusicarchive *Description from Wikipedia © R. Mighty 2016 earthdotsky.com - all rights reserved -

George Thorndike Angell (June 5, 1823 – March 16, 1909) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and advocate for the humane treatment of animals. Angell is interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA, a National Historic Landmark. Artist-in-Residence Roberto Mighty, MFA, chose Angell as one of the historical figures featured in his "earth.sky" multimedia installation and online interactive experience. In this backgrounder video, historian Victoria Cain gives a brief introduction to the extraordinary work of Mr. Angell. Research for this program was funded in part by a grant from Mass Humanities. “George Thorndike Angell, a blond, bearded Boston attorney, established the animal welfare movement in late 19th-century Massachusetts and championed humane behavior throughout the United States. Among the first reformers to denounce the casual abuse and exploitation of domestic animals, Angell founded the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1868 to protect the overworked horses, skeletal cattle, and shaved sheep crowding Boston’s winter-hard roads. Over the next thirty years, he travelled the United States, helping to pass anti-cruelty statutes. He constantly reached out to teachers, schoolchildren and churches, who responded enthusiastically to his message. By the time of his death, he had helped establish more than 70,000 youth clubs devoted to animal protection. When asked "Why do you spend so much of your time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to men?" he answered, "I am working at the roots.”” - Victoria Cain, Ph.D. For more information earthdotsky.com mountauburn.org ©2016 R. Mighty - all rights reserved -