I have to admit this project has become a little slow after my dissertation, i have found that i have not been ccreating as quick as i thought i would. However I have still been painting, but I have continued old projects from last year and the year before working with colour in my abstract art.
During my research for my dssertation , and looking at other artists I began searching for some materials I though i would like to use within my art. I looked for animal materials , which were difficult to source once I had decided what I had wanted. I searched for fox tails, fox ‘masks’ and skulls. This gave me the idea of looking back at atxidermy and how it began.. with taxidermy that was poorly carried out, and didnt look real, animals that were all higgledy piggedly, giving an amusing yet disturbing effect. I eventually had to order these parts from the USA, and wait for them to arrive. fox tails were unavailable, however a skull, two masks and some glass eyes were sent. I not only ordered fox eyes, but fish eyes and teddy bear eyes, as I remember in my research that some of the earlier taxidermists used teddy bear eyes within their work.
After all this research and finishing my dissertation it means i can now focus on more studio work, before my research I was mainly sketching and collaging. Polly Morgan amongst others has inspired me to change from sketching to more installation like work, or to atleast change my use in materials.
It also made me think about my love of the materials i intended to use. I then realised I already have a large amount of fur ( recycled from coats from the 70’s) and I have antlers on my wall. So i clearly love the use of animals, so iu wont find it a problem using it within my art.
so I have ordered a fox skull that i would like to use within my work, perhaps inspired by Damiens Hirsts For the love of God. I have also ordered fox masks ( faces ) and glass eyes, This made me think about fitting these pieces togethre, they will all be different sizes, so they will not fit naturally, it will look muddled and messy, possibly much like Walter potters taxidermy, this could be an interesting effect.
I like the use of animals within art, ( providing no animals come to harm or suffer for the sake of the art) as it does make us question life and death , and also our own morality at the same time. I also like the use of animals as it hints at Britains strong culture of hunting too.
Damien Hirst is the latest artist i looked at when researching animals used within contemporary art, he uses yet another process fo preservation. he sets his dead animals in formaldyhede. MOst of us know all about his work, which focuses on ideas of life and death , he says there is nothing else to focus on, life is obviously about life itself and therefore death.
He creates work which features whole animals preserved as in glass boxes, he also creates new creatures in glass boxes. None of the animals were harmed in order to make the shock art.
these pieces are perhaps more art because of the sheer size and fear impact with a shark in the room, perhaps less because of the thought of inter species relations, or animal torture.
Although he has also been accused of animal cruelty with In and Out of Love where he reportedly killed 9000 butterflies by displaying them although with fresh fruit, they died inside, and they were replaced with more. Many also would have been trodden on by the viewers.
so aswell as saying he does not harm live animals,infact within this partcular piece he did.
There are other forms of preservation apart from taxidermy. Plastination is another and is also used within contemporary art and science.
Dr Gunther van Hagens invented plastination, most people wll know him from the channel 4 series of him disecting animals.
He uses plastination to let the audience see inside the animal, he turns the animals liquids into polymers so it preserves them by basically making them plastic, he can also use dyes to make the liquids more clear and visible. by doing this, they become shock art. he uses animals that are donated to him, they are not harmed for this purpose or reason. so technically no animals were harmed to create art although real animals were used. again, this art questions life and death of the animal and therefore makes the viewer question their life and death .
