What We Misunderstand About Taxidermy

Taxidermy has always been a little of an odd practice to me. Yet, I can understand it. While, personally, I would not engage in the practice, I do believe that taxidermy is a bit of an art form. In fact, what a taxidermist is really doing is preserving a moment in their memory and making it tangible for everyone else to see. Some may find it creepy, and they're certainly allowed to, but, then again, some people find certain works of art creepy too. Nonetheless, that doesn't make them any less a work of art. In that light, taxidermy can take on the aspects of both being creepy and being a way for someone to memorialize their big catch or four-legged friend depending on the individual.

I feel that taxidermy is a way for some individuals to express the love and dedication they had for certain animals during life, a way to take a memory they have and manifest it in a tangible way. It is a marker if you will. When they look at their mounted head of a deer or their stuffed cat, they are taken back to a time when those animals were alive. The taxidermist gets to relive the moment when they were with their pet, or get to experience the rush again of shooting the deer. This is similar to the emotions pieces of art are meant to evoke to those who see them. Just like with art, taxidermy is meant to evoke an experience, play off a memory, and ultimately the taxidermist probably doesn't make any distinction between a wall mounting and any other piece of art.

Given that light, I don't see how taxidermy can really, truly be considered "creepy". I would more associate it to the term "weird" myself. However, it is possible that the individual taxidermist is shooting for a "creepy" feeling when they arrange and collect animals to preserve in their living room, and, in that case, I would cede that it would indeed be creepy. That is the vibe that the taxidermist is aiming for though and rest assured that that is not the intent most taxidermists are after.

I would also like to mention that most of us don't feel the same "creepiness" when we go to look at our dead loved ones when they die. In fact, most of us feel obligated to experience what they look like after they've died, albeit only for a few days after their death. Compare this, if you will, to the taxidermist. The only difference we really see is location and time. Now, I know most of us would feel a little more than just uncomfortable if we preserved a dead loved one by our fireplace, but the idea remains intrinsically the same. We want to burn what they looked like in our memory. We don't want to forget them. The same holds true for the taxidermist. They don't want to forget what meant so much to them. With loved ones, we have pictures. The same doesn't hold true all the time for our pets and certainly not for our big catches. Taxidermy, in that way, is simply another way we memorialize and honor the dead to us.

On one final note, personally I think that taxidermy is a bold and often misunderstood practice. I don't think that we should be shaken by it. Some of us have trouble letting go and moving on. While taxidermy might seem like an escape from reality in this way, I actually think that it is quite the opposite. The taxidermist is taking his or her final step with that animal and, in doing so, is letting go and moving on. It is the taxidermist's way of saying "goodbye" to that moment in time that will forever live on in their hearts.