- Title: Taxidermy kittens tie the knot in New York exhibit
- Date: 28th September 2016
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 28, 2016) (REUTERS) WIDE VIEW OF TAXIDERMY EXHIBIT WALL WITH VARIOUS TAXIDERMY DOGS MORE OF TAXIDERMY DOGS WIDE VIEW OF ANTHROPOMORPHIC TAXIDERMY SQUIRRELS DRINKING TEA VARIOUS OF J.D. POWE, CURATOR OF "TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE & IMMORTALITY' EXHIBIT LOOKING AT "THE KITTENS' WEDDING" (SOUNDBITE) (English) J.D. POWE, CURATOR OF "TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE & IMMORTALITY' EXHIBIT, SAYING: "Taxidermy has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence over the past few years, and we do see a lot of hobbyists making their own taxidermy. The pieces here though are mostly antique pieces, including some very rare specimens of extinct animals like the passenger pigeon. And anthropomorphic pieces that are essentially animals dressed up doing human-like activity. " WIDE VIEW OF "THE KITTENS' WEDDING" BY 19TH CENTURY TAXIDERMIST WALTER POTTER GROOM KITTEN VARIOUS OF BRIDE KITTEN GUESTS KITTENS AND FORMER SUITOR OF BRIDE KITTEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) J.D. POWE, CURATOR OF "TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE & IMMORTALITY' EXHIBIT, SAYING: "It was done in 1890 and it features about 20 kittens, at a wedding ceremony where you have a bride and groom kitten being presided over by a parson. And of course the wedding party, including one gentleman who is apparently a disgruntled former suitor according to the documentation that we have on the piece." VARIOUS OF GUEST KITTENS WIDE VIEW OF WEDDING SCENE (SOUNDBITE) (English) J.D. POWE, CURATOR OF "TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE & IMMORTALITY' EXHIBIT, SAYING: "I can't speak to whether he killed the kittens personally himself. My understanding was that he did acquire them from local farmers and I suspect that they were probably dead at the time. Obviously back then there were very different attitudes about animal welfare," VARIOUS OF "The Prize Fight" SHOWING Boxing Squirrel diorama FROM THE 19th century VARIOUS OF "THE FROG SPANKING" FROM THE 19TH CENTURY (SOUNDBITE) (English) J.D. POWE, CURATOR OF "TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE & IMMORTALITY' EXHIBIT, SAYING: "When we think about whether they are morbid or not, and to a degree which they are, I think we have to be very careful not to apply our modern sort of present mindset to what was going on in the Victorian era." WIDE VIEW OF WALL WITH TAXIDERMY BIRDS EXTINCT HEATH HEN IN GLASS DOME, CIRCA 1900 VARIOUS OF EXTINCT PASSENGER PIGEON, CIRCA 1890 TERENCE ZIEGLER, VISITOR LOOKING AT EXHIBIT (SOUNDBITE) (English) TERENCE ZIEGLER, VISITOR, SAYING: "Your mind goes into this space, 'I am in a museum.' But it's not like your typical museum. There is something a little off about everything. You might have squirrels playing cards in a little diorama. It's very unique and very strange." VARIOUS OF Squirrels Playing Cards, VICTORIAN ERA WIDE VIEW OF FREAK OF NATURE SECTION OF EXHIBIT FOUR-TUSKED WALRUS TWO-FACED COW VARIOUS OF CO-JOINED CALF WIDE VIEW OF EXHIBIT VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF MORBID ANATOMY MUSEUM
- Embargoed: 13th October 2016 21:52
- Keywords: The Kittens’ Wedding Taxidermy cats taxidermy wedding Walter Potter
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Human Interest/Brights/Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00151HDWT5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A New York museum seeks to explore the strange and profound connections humans have with preserved animals through a taxidermy exhibit titled "Taxidermy: Art, Science & Immortality."
The exhibit hosted by the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn is divided into different segments, explained curator J.D. Powe.
"The pieces here are mostly antique pieces, including some very rare specimens of extinct animals like the passenger pigeon," he told Reuters on Wednesday (September 28).
"And anthropomorphic pieces that are essentially animals dressed up doing human-like activity."
The highlight of the anthropomorphic section, that consists mostly of pieces from the Victorian era, is an elaborate wedding scene titled "The Kittens' Wedding" created by British taxidermist Walter Potter.
"It was done in 1890 and it features about 20 kittens, at a wedding ceremony where you have a bride and groom kitten being presided over by a parson," Powe explained.
"And of course the wedding party, including one gentleman who is apparently a disgruntled former suitor according to the documentation that we have on the piece."
The kittens are fully dressed in Victorian era attire including jewelry and boutonnieres. When asked if the self-taught taxidermist killed the animals himself, Powe said: "My understanding was that he did acquire them from local farmers and I suspect that they were probably dead at the time. Obviously back then there were very different attitudes about animal welfare."
Other works in this section are dioramas of squirrels drinking tea and a spanking frog.
The exhibit also features a section displaying taxidermy of rare and extinct animals, such as a heath hen, a common bird in North America until it was hunted to extinction in 1932 in a glass dome. Another bird that suffered a similar fate, the passenger pigeon, was displayed in a glass cage nearby.
A section titled "Freaks of Nature" shows people's fascination with peculiar animals, such as taxidermy of a four-tusk walrus, a cow with two heads and a co-joined calf.
Terence Ziegler, a visitor from Brooklyn described the exhibit as "very strange."
"Your mind goes into this space, 'I am in a museum.' But it's not like your typical museum. There is something a little off about everything. You might have squirrels playing cards in a little diorama," he said.
The exhibit shows over 100 artfully preserved animals, and runs until November 6. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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