TO MY TIGER MOM, WENDY SU
SEE? I TOLD YOU ID PUBLISH A BOOK ONE DAY.
WAIT, THIS ISNT WHAT YOU HAD IN MIND?
DANGIT.
Copyright 2014 by Kat Su
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
Originally published in Great Britain by Cassell, a division of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., an Hachette UK Company, London.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Su, Kat.
Crap taxidermy / Kat Su. First U.S. edition.
pages cm
1. TaxidermyPopular works. 2. TaxidermyHumor. 3. TaxidermyPictorial works. I. Title.
QL63.S84 2014
590.75dc23
2014019795
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-820-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-821-2
v3.1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Taxidermy is a multidisciplinary artform. A competent taxidermist has an encyclopedic knowledge of anatomy, the laser-like precision of a world-class surgeon, and an artistic sensitivity to the physical world that rivals God Himself. The chances of a mere mortal mastering any of these traits is very slim, and the likelihood of becoming proficient in all three is virtually non-existent.
In the summer of 2009, I moved into an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and aspired to give my sad living situation a touch of class by incorporating some dead animals into the decor. After scouring eBay and Etsy for taxidermy (a deer head to be precise), I quickly realized that the taxidermy available on the Internet could be classified into four categories:
1) Good taxidermy.
2) Bad taxidermy.
3) Weird-as-hell good taxidermy.
4) Weird-as-hell bad taxidermy.
Consequently, I launched the Crappy Taxidermy Tumblr to document the latter three categories. Since the sites creation, I have obsessively kept track of every bug-eyed, misshapen, bizarre, awkward, or just-plain-wrong piece of taxidermy that I was able to find online. As the site grew, readers started submitting photographs of their own taxidermy, and sightings of crappy taxidermy that they had found in museums, roadside attractions, stores, art galleries, or peoples homes.
Considering all the weird, creepy taxidermy pictures I have accumulated on my hard drive since working on the Crappy Taxidermy blog, I had always speculated that I would be in jail by now for crimes against good taste.
However, Im thrilled that the exact opposite has happened. This book is a celebration of crappy taxidermy and the eccentric and amazing people who create it. Regular taxidermy endeavors to give the illusion of life to the non-living, but crappy taxidermy highlights the subjects state of death due to the animal being contextualized in a completely surreal or absurd way. This book will present examples of taxidermy that is in a permanent state of rigor mortis, taxidermy that is so anatomically incorrect that it could be considered a crime against nature, and my personal favorite, taxidermy with hilarious over-the-top facial expressions.
The spirit of the book isnt meant to be disparaging, and I hope that people will delight in looking at the strange and preposterous specimens on display in these pages. A very special thank you to the taxidermists, fine artists, readers, and well-traveled photographers who contributed the pictures in this book.
FOX WITH EYE TRANSPLANT
SPOTTED IN CAIRO, EGYPT
KARATE-LOVING LIONESS
SPOTTED IN YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER
SPOTTED IN NEW YORK, USA
EARNEST FOX
SPOTTED IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
FEARSOME BARN OWL
SPOTTED IN OHIYA, SRI LANKA
FLAT WOLF
SPOTTED IN RHODES, GREECE
BEWILDERED BADGER
SPOTTED IN POCHEON, SOUTH KOREA
EXTINCT BROWN BEAR
SPOTTED IN NEWTOWN, AUSTRALIA
PREDATORY BROWN BEAR
SPOTTED IN STEYL, THE NETHERLANDS
CRUSTY PANDA
SPOTTED IN CHENGDU, CHINA
ALIEN-EYED SERVAL
SPOTTED IN KUCHING, MALAYSIA
HUNGOVER CAT
SPOTTED IN PYONGSONG, NORTH KOREA
EARLESS SNOW LEOPARD
SPOTTED IN POKHARA, NEPAL
HUNGRY HYPNOTIZED OCELOT
SPOTTED IN QUETZALTENANGO, GUATEMALA