Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This research considers works of art created from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. It focuses on the new use of ‘taxidermy’, ‘fur’, and ‘skin’ by artists in works of visual art. More recently, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, this phenomenon of using ‘taxidermy’ in works of visual art has also become visible in Japan. Unlike the work of artists from the western world, we can see elements that are uniquely Japanese. This difference may be due to the food culture and folk beliefs of Japan, which for a long time was a society based on agriculture and not on cattle breeding. We examine the significance of taxidermy art for the Japanese, who have historically had a very diverse relationship with animals: deer as messengers of the gods, deer and wild boar as sacrifices to protect crops, and bears for the Matagi people. I focus on ‘taxidermy art’ from an art historical perspective, while, at the same time, drawing on further disciplines, such as, anthropology, the natural sciences, folk studies, and ethics. Through this essential research, I interrogate how works of ‘taxidermy art’ relate to society.