A Colorado art museum is standing by an upcoming exhibit by a Chinese-born artist featuring three tortoises with iPads mounted on their backs.
The Aspen Art Museum released a statement on Wednesday supporting the exhibit by Cai Guo-Qiang called “Moving Ghost Town” despite calls from animal-rights activists to call off the exhibit as animal abuse.
The exhibit opens on Saturday as part of the public grand opening of the town’s new US$45 million museum.
The African Sulcata tortoises will roam around grass on the museum’s roof deck garden. Each will have two iPads showing video of ghost towns.
The museum said the tortoises were rescued from a breeder and that a veterinarian is overseeing their care, and that their diet includes leafy vegetables. The iPads are on mounts attached with an epoxy used to attach tracking devices to wild animals, the museum said.