2016 | United States | Documentary

Death & Taxidermy

  • English 24 mins
  • Director | Mariel Carr
  • Producer | Mariel Carr
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Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of stuffing animals. The compulsion to keep animals intact after death goes back to ancient Egypt, where animals of all description were mummified. Though the methods and motivations have changed, the desire has remained pretty constant. 

Meet Beth Beverly, a young taxidermist turning the craft on its head; John Whitenight, a faithful and eccentric collector of Victorian taxidermy; and the polar bears and gorillas that stand motionless in the natural history museum. Together they relay taxidermy’s long history of combining art and science, and fighting the inevitable decay all creatures ultimately face. 

Directed and Produced by Mariel Carr

Animated by Jacob Rivkin

Assistant Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

Re-Recording Mixer: Mark Schultz, CAS, Shake Audio Post

Images courtesy of John Whitenight and Wikimedia Commons

Archival footage courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Music: “Bit Rio,” “Climbing the Mountain,” and “Movin on up” by Podington Bear, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network

Mariel Carr produces for Distillations magazine, a publication of a science history non-profit organization called the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

death nature art taxidermy
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