by Mary Beougher

Created on: August 10, 2010

While it may seem that a lot of anthro art is out there only to shock the senses and is clearly being used in fetish-like way, it is unfair to assume all works that are anthropomorphic in nature fall into that category. If you take a look at the larger picture, then fetish art is probably only a small percentage of the pieces out there, especially if you can see past the stereotypical anime girl wearing some kind of animal regalia reminiscent of a child’s Halloween costume. For a clearer picture, a definition of anthropomorphism is necessary.

Taken from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthropom orphism

Anthropomorphism: noun, an interpretation of what is not human or personal items in terms of human or personal characteristics.

Some of the most familiar and most innocent art that uses anthropomorphism is tied to children’s fables and literature. Every child has a book of nursery rhymes in their earliest collections, and along with the line, “the dish ran away with the spoon”, is usually a charming illustration depicting the two hand in hand as they scamper off. In literature, everyone knows about the white rabbit, desperately worried about being late and constantly checking his pocket watch, and his image permeates throughout our modern culture. We also can’t forget about the beautifully illustrated Tales of Beatrix Potter or Wind in the Willows, both examples of animals behaving in a very human way.

Examples of anthropomorphism that trend on the side of fine art and are often shown in well-known galleries have come out of the lowbrow and pop surrealism movements which has swept the art world in recent years. These artists dispel the notion that the people creating this type of art are untrained masses with little vision and depth to their work.

One of these is artist is Mark Ryden. In 1987, he received a BFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. While his work has a strong focus on children, peppered throughout are also the toys of these children with obviously human faces, characteristics, and actions. His series of paintings entitled “Wondertoonel” was exhibited in Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Todd Schorr also displays quite a bit of anthropomorphism in his works, due to the influence of Walt Disney and Max Fleischer in childhood. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art (now called the University of the Arts) and worked for a time as a professional illustrator. When he became frustrated with the limitations of that work, he turned to his own art. It didn’t take long for his pieces to be hanging in some of the most prestigious galleries.

Although is pieces are strictly animal in nature, there is an indefinable human quality to all the creatures painted by Scott Musgrove. A few of them even have quite human-like faces and all of them seem to be deep in thoughts that could only be understood by a person. Like his contemporaries, Scott Musgrove is also a professionally trained artist with a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, OH.

To accept anthropomorphism as art, instead of merely a fetish, it is necessary for people to rethink their terms and look at it objectively, keeping the true definition in mind. Anthro art is more than just girls in bunny ears, it is a way to define the nature of our world in a way that we can comprehend.

https://markryden.com

https://www.toddschorr.com

https://www.scottmusgrove.com

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