Art Lecture: Adventures in Taxidermy, Melissa Milgrom

            Before my entrance to the Nevada Museum of Art to listen to some artists talk about some art, I truly had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know what the topic was before I sat down in my seat. Much to my surprise, I was taken back by its topic of Taxidermy for the only thing I’ve ever learned about the topic, was gathered from a middle school project. So I think it’s pretty obvious that my understanding of taxidermy as an art form was quite scarce. When I finally realized what I was in for, I had a weird feeling in my stomach, shortly met by extreme curiosity. Melissa Milgrom was the one who guided the talk along with a power point to aid her lecture. Milgrom started the lecture by describing taxidermy as complicated, and just by that sentence, I felt as though I could relate. I remember saying to myself “Well, duh. It can’t be easy stuffing things that were once alive, and making them look alive again.” But little did I know that Milgrom was speaking to taxidermy as more than just stuffing animals, but also to the artists that perform the art.

            Milgrom continues the lecture, expanding further on the intricacies of taxidermy and her philosophies of art. Claiming that artists aren’t obliged to tell the truth and I found that to be quite contradictory considering most people understand that taxidermy is primarily about telling some form of the truth. As when one generally uses taxidermy to preserve an animal or being of some sort, they try to make it look as life like as possible, therefore, preserving the truth of what once was. Bringing Milgrom to her next point that taxidermy is a very intricate process and that every single hair is just as important to the shape and color of the animal in order to keep its character. At this point Milgrom also explained that taxidermy is a dying breed (no pun intended) and that those who still practice the art are actively trying to separate themselves from other categories such as science.

            Further into her lecture Milgrom addressed the stereotypical thought of taxidermists as people who have no regard or respect for the living organism.  Fortunately, I can’t say that I’ve fallen pray to such thoughts because I’ve always understood taxidermy as nothing more than a job for most, but those who have a passion must love animals in order to want to preserve them. I was happy to hear that I share the same kind of understanding as she explained and made a case for taxidermists that they love animals more than most.

            Throughout the lecture I truly enjoyed Milgrom’s enthusiasm for taxidermy as an art form and I really do see it differently. As I stated before I only ever knew taxidermy to be the preservation of animals through a rigorous process all from a middle school paper. But after hearing Milgrom’s case on why and how taxidermy is an art form I look forward to truly appreciating it more.