It's been a couple of weeks since the opening of Ravishing Beasts at the MOV, and over those weeks a question has been burning a hole in my brain: "Where have I seen that creepy little bear holding it's hand out? Where have I seen it? AGGGGGHHHH where have I seen that strange little guy before?!?!"
He's pictured here on the right, with his hand out as if he's asking for a cookie:
And the answer, which I just figured out upon digging through some old folders of digital photos, is that I actually saw him three years ago when I was given access to the Museum's very own archives when I was scouting a location for a photo shoot! I came across this photo and it all came back to me. The creepy little bear in the box covered in a layer of plastic. Specimen #NM235. Mystery solved.
The questions that remain, though, are how relevant is taxidermy in modern museums? What is it's future? And for most of us there are also questions about it's past. These questions might be answered (and further sparked) by - you guessed it - visiting the Ravishing Beasts exhibit at the MOV!!!
