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Animal Art. Präparierte Tiere in der Kunst, 1850-2000

Research imperative and process: This is the first full-length study of the way preserved animal bodies have been used as material in modern and contemporary art, from the late 19th century until today. Breaking down the boundaries between art history and other disciplines Lange-Berndt raises ethical questions about the status of preserved animals in terms of what Donna Haraway has coined as 'naturecultures'. The book also relates closely to the emergent field of animal studies.

This book provides a systematic survey of a spectacular material of modern and contemporary art: preserved animal bodies. It focuses on the work of artists who use taxidermy or wet preparations to reflect on the history of Wissensdinge (or ‘knowledge things’). Adopting a feminist perspective, the text introduces strategies of making that promise alternative models of the body. The investigation starts with 19th century animal sculpture and considers works by Joan Mirò, Robert Rauschenberg, Annette Messager, Nancy Graves, Mark Dion and others, taking into account a range of contexts from zoology to fashion, shop windows and mass media.