THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT TAXIDERMY IS AN ART form seems to come up often enough that I feel it’s time I address the issue. Art is an interesting subject and is defined in many ways. If we spend time researching the definition of fine art we will see that it seems to be limited to media such as painting, sculpture, theater, dance, architecture, music, and film.
Now, if we are just debating as to whether or not taxidermy is an art form, we need to think about what place art fits into our lives. If the purpose of taxidermy is solely to preserve one’s trophy kill, that’s one thing, but if it is to bring us back to a memorable place in time, spurring thought and connectedness, then we need to think about it further. More often than not, there seems to be a common ingredient that is present in the definitions of art, and that is “art invokes emotion.”

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