Animal art irks taxidermists
Minn. artists have different views on preserving animals.
Published Feb. 1, 2005
When Scott Bibus began training to become a taxidermist, he knew he was entering a strange line of work.
"Taxidermy was an odd angle because I didn't come from a hunting family," he said.
If conventional taxidermy is odd, then the form of taxidermy art that Bibus creates is downright weird.
Bibus is a founding member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, an organization composed of artists who manipulate animal carcasses to create intriguing and sometimes shocking art works. Creations by Bibus and the two other founding members of MART ' Sarina Brewer and Robert Marbury ' are displayed on the group's Web site, www.roguetaxidermy.com.
Although the three create works that resemble animals, each artist possesses a distinct style. While Brewer creates fantastical conglomerations of animal parts such as "Capricorn," a winged goat with a fishtail, Marbury only uses toy stuffed animals to create fictional species.
Bibus perhaps produces the most grotesque mounts. His work typically features an animal with blood oozing from its mouth feasting on a bloody human finger, another animal or its own appendages. In one such work, a muskrat is posed belly-up gnawing on two legs he has apparently ripped off his own body.
Bibus, who was trained at a traditional taxidermy school, said his work naturally evolved into a more bizarre art form.
"I'm a traditional taxidermist," Bibus said. "All the skins are real skins. Taxidermy is becoming industrialized and it needs an edginess to make it interesting."
However, the endeavors of organizations like MART are a little too edgy for many conventional taxidermists.
Jim Cook is vice president of the Missouri Taxidermist Association, an organization that holds a statewide convention each year in Columbia. Cook said though rouge taxidermists might use a conventional method of preserving animals, the product is not taxidermy because the animals are not depicted in their natural condition.
"There's no such thing as a muskrat body with a pheasant head and duck feet," Cook said. "I think these are just taxidermists who were bored with too much time on their hands. It's not taxidermy in the truest sense of the word, but you have to have a working knowledge of the technique nonetheless."
Michael Rhoades, founder of Medicine Creek Taxidermy in Lucerne, Mo., said he does not think MART's work can be considered taxidermy, but he doesn't think they necessarily give taxidermists a bad name.
"I really don't think that it affects us," he said. "It might make us look better."
Bibus said MART receives mostly positive feedback from those who view the group's work, but the organization is no stranger to criticism from conventional taxidermists. Bibus said most taxidermists view MART's work as an attempt to mock the profession.
"I don't mean to demean," he said. "We want people to think about taxidermy and get geared up about it."
Bibus also said that he doesn't take his art too seriously. He said he just hopes to one day gain the respect of his fellow taxidermists.
"I'm not going to pretend it has some philosophical importance," he said. "My goal is to be good enough at taxidermy that a regular taxidermist will recognize that my technique is good and respect what I do."