Dead Animals, or the curious occurrence of taxidermy in contemporary art

At a time when natural history museums are moving away from taxidermy, a resurgence of interest has been manifest in the popular culture—in internet blogs and image collections,  in fashion and commercial advertising—and in the visual arts. Dead Animals surveys current artistic usage of taxidermy through the work of approximately fifteen artists, including Annette Messager, Maurizio Cattelan, Kate Clark, Mark Dion, Thomas Grunfeld, Damien Hirst, Polly Morgan, Deborah Sengl, Snæbjörnsdóttir / Wilson, David Shrigley, and Angela Singer. The exhibition and accompanying symposium will examine the cultural history of taxidermy, social factors that have contributed to artists’ interests in the “idea of the animal,” and the ways in which these interests are manifest in artists’ works. It will question how taxidermy, with its inherent association with death, differs from the use of live animals or animal substitutes such as stuffed animals, and why taxidermy may be particularly relevant to the exploration of the human-animal question. Finally, it will examine ethical issues surrounding the incorporation of animals in art.

Curated by Jo-Ann Conklin