Animal Bodies in, and as, Art

In the Anthropocene, concerns for wildlife (natural) are overshadowed by the desire for personal comfort (human). The current infrastructure de-values the non-human to the point of eradication. One cannot be free from the inherent exploitation of nature and its resources while living within a man-made environment. Humans have destroyed animal habitat to such an extent that creatures are forced to live amongst the bustle. Unfortunately, the presence of these sentient other-than-human beings is not always welcome and, in fact, is often labeled an abject nuisance. My work and research seeks to advocate for the overlooked, often playing with ethical and moral lines. The moral and polemic implications suggested by my use of animal bodies and parts begs the question: “How much is too much? Or, how much is too far?”

I first began to question the ethics of taxidermy while volunteering at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. My objective was to create study skins that museum visitors would be able to see and physically interact with. A white pigeon was my first specimen that came from a man downstate who bred show pigeons. In training, I was taught to sketch and measure the specimen to ensure the accuracy of the form. I was surprised by the artistic gesture in the pre-planning process. The skinning itself also felt familiar: it reminded me of very thin paper or delicate fabric, while keeping the plumage patterns relatively stable in their place with pins, felt like working on textiles. Galvanized steel wires were used to construct a body form that ran alongside the bird's wings and legs. The wire lived in the place formerly taken up by muscle. Styrofoam, excelsior, and natural cotton are bound tightly and air dry clay keeps the glass eyes in place, symmetrical, seamless and sturdy. Once the bird is sewn up using the baseball stitch, I would take a pin and spend hours placing each feather, especially the 24 flight feathers. This is a sculptural and artistic gesture from start to finish.

As much as I love the process, I also felt conflicted about the pigeon. Not that particular pigeon but the animal body I had used to make art with. I know the bird would have been put to death with or without my interference, I was far removed from its demise. Aside from the feathers, I experienced it like chicken breast meat at the market. For the next two years I spent at least one night a week in the lab, each time completing one study skin that was either to be included in the collection, or used for educational purposes and exhibit props. All of these birds were either hit by vehicles or struck windows and there was no short supply on the Chicago lakefront. The language used to explain to children at the museum for class trips was intended to be safe and easy to swallow. The answer to “how did it die?” was “natural causes.” This felt appropriate because animals get hit by cars or accidentally poisoned every day, however, the death may not be directly related to an individual's actions. The death is considered natural because it is normal practice and that doesn’t sit right with me.

After moving from Chicago, I took the position of resident taxidermist at the Illinois Raptor Center in Decatur, IL. The center takes in animals that collide with vehicles, windows, electrical wires, poison, and rehabilitates them when possible. While I was there, over thirty of these “Ambassador Animals”--the lucky few whose lives could be saved, but not released back into the wild--served educational programs. The center specializes in caring for raptors, hawks, falcons, owls, and eagles. One aspect of caring for the birds is feeding them daily. Raptors are carnivores who hunt for live mammals and birds, but in the animal rehab field, it is considered unethical to release live prey into an enclosure to be hunted and possibly suffer in the process. The solution is to feed frozen and thawed quail, mice, rats, occasionally rabbits, and fish, a method similar to the use of frozen mice from pet stores as food for pet reptiles. Preparation and feeding are done by volunteers and require a few steps. Each evening, the appropriate amount of food is transferred from a deep freezer into a refrigerator to thaw for the following days meal prep. In the morning, a worker uses bone scissors to clip off the quail’s wings at the shoulder and feet above the knees. Then a large chunk of skin is grasped behind the neck and ripped down, pulling the skin and feather tracks off.

These parts are not usually digested by the raptor and therefore remain in the mew as waste that would require cleaning. Removing these parts prior to giving the meal is an efficient solution. The numbers can vary, but, in my experience, usually 1-2 dozen quail, and similar quantities of mice, were given out as food. Every day there were, on average, 24 wings and feet being discarded into the trash. I began to see this as material that could be used, in the same way any recycled pieces and parts of other material can be used to make art.

My work began with the preparation of several members of the Woodpecker family for a specialized display in the welcome center. One unforseen aspect of my time here was the opportunity to observe and handle the birds in order to understand their anatomy and natural behaviors which added to my visual catalogue of poses. There are two categories of taxidermy, live mounts and study skins. Live mounts are specimens posed to look natural and lifelike, sometimes with habitat included. Study skins are a method of processing higher numbers that can be stored in collections drawers. Study skins are posed to save space and make visual categorization quicker. The bird is positioned on its back, with wings by its side, feet crossed together above the tail, and the neck bent back with the top of the head or beak touching the table. For the exhibit of Woodpeckers that I worked on, the Director wanted to show differences in the size between various species by highlighting their wings and beak lengths. I designed and implemented a few changes to the traditional study skin pose by turning the bird's head to the right side and spreading out it’s right wing. I also included artificial glass eyes instead of cotton, and attached the body to a wooden dowel rod for easier handling.