This week's trendspotter is clothing designer Kathy Malone of Brooklyn Indie Market. (See Kathy's previous Featured Buyer post here.) She recently became interested in the subject of anthropomorphism — attributing uniquely human characteristics to nonhuman beings — and she did a little research on the subject for an in-depth Trends review. Enjoy!

I have a confession: as a clothing designer with a lot of time on my hands during the post holiday-period, I indulged myself in the visual smorgasbord of the world of Etsy art. What I found most compelling and extraordinary was the myriad of ways that Etsy artists were employing a device I soon learned was termed anthropomorphism — the assigning of nonhuman attributes to human forms, or what I call "pet heads."

I set out to learn the artists' inspiration for these otherworldly creatures, which was as varied as the artwork itself, and the history behind this phenomena. I wrote to Dr. Ann Russman, curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum, which houses one of the premier collections of Egyptian Art in the world. She says that there "certainly seem to have been anthropomorphic deities already in the predynastic period, to judge from the female figure with upraised arms, apparently a goddess, that appears on painted pots and of which we also have a three-dimensional image."

She continued, "A deity's animal might express its personality — perhaps the best example is the fierce lion-headed goddess Sakhmet. Significantly, her imagery was extended to other goddesses, such as Mut, when their fierce, powerful aspects were invoked."

Intrigued, I asked various artists dabbling in anthropomorphism on Etsy about their inspirations. 

[Hummer Print by OrangeWillow]

Wendy of OrangeWillow was on the same page, as she wrote: "As far as inspiration, I can go all the way back to Egyptian art. Throughout history, anthropomorphism is frequent, and I love looking through all kinds of examples. I try to use a bit of wit though when I create my morphs…I also am crazy for fashion, current and Victorian, which you will often see in my morphs."


[Letterpress Print Blood Sister by jennybird]

jennybird said: "In my work, I like to explore the complex interconnectedness of opposites as seen through the prism of myth, fable and fantasy. When I am using them in an anthropomorphic way, I am taking the real or imagined qualities that the animal possesses and bestowing that quality upon the human character in the painting."

[Fawn Mask Print by MarmeeCraft]

MarmeeCraft: "As for my inspiration, I've always been drawn to eerie and odd images and that feeling of magic and other-worldliness that one gets from legends, myths and faerie tales...I try to draw on that in my own work. I also really love the work of 19th century symbolist painters, like Fernand Khnopff (The Caress is a wonderful anthropomorphic piece.)"

[Dingo Head by Banalgirl]

Banalgirl: "My inspiration is the close relationship between indigenous Australians with the Dingo (Australia's native wolf) — some communities even have the dingo as a totem animal or have 'dreaming creation' myths about them." 

[Dark Forest by LittleRobot]

LittleRobot: "I have another piece which is now sold (Dark Forest) which had a paper puppet girl and she could wear an owl head. And all of that goes back to the original Wicker Man movie which I accidentally saw really late one night when I was about 15. It was so eerie and bizarre that I've loved it ever since and love animal masks in all their forms."

 
[Festive Zebra Marionette by Crankbunny]

Crankbunny: "Well, in general — I've been greatly affected by being dragged to Disney World every summer when I was a child…There's something magical and perfectly ok about plopping an animal head on a human body. Certain animals have such wonderful features, too — lots of great patterns, crazy colors and bizarre features. It's something I love to play with."

[Bear Lady by ohmycavalier]

ohmycavalier: "Well, it comes from a mixture of a lot of places, but I supposes the strongest is from old children's books illustrations (since they've been around me basically from birth!). But I also look at a lot of antique postcards, and they are chalk full of anthropomorphism. Also though, I've definitely been inspired by the Victorian/surreal collages of Max Ernst."

[Heavens to Etsy by MATTY8080]

MATTY8080: "I would have to say that my biggest inspiration is the endless amount of strange intricacies that animals have...Horns, antlers, hooves, gills, claws, paws, beaks, tails, spots, scales, antennas...All sorts of weird things that I have a fun time thinking of ways to draw."

[Pinkerton Strikebreaker by fenrislorsai]

fenrislorsrai: "I do a lot of anthropomorphic artwork. I enjoy it since most animals have some sort of symbolic meaning or pop culture association. Thus I can use an animal to enhance the theme of a piece, of can go completely counter to the normal association with my choice to surprise people."

[Tiger Print by berkleyillustration]

berkleyillustration: "In high school I took particular interest in a vintage image of a painting on the inside of the Smashing Pumpkin's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness liner notes, which depicted a group of rabbits playing baseball. That picture became a great source of inspiration for me in the following years. I fell in love with the idea of animals engaging in human activities, or even wearing their clothing. Soon after, I did a series of my own drawings with animals playing different sports in more modern times."

[Rabbits Unexpected Party by gardenpainter4]

gardenpainter4: "My source of inspiration for anthropomorphic art is truly a love for all things surreal and whimsical. I am fascinated by the fact that I have some control over the birth of a personality. I can take the body or bodies out of a vintage photo, (as in the print above, where the two bodies are from an old photo of my 90 and 93 year old aunts), and fuse that with the head of an animal to create a completely new personality. With a simple tilt of the head or a colorful pointy hat, there now exists something that has the opportunity to make someone happy, to make people question, or simply to make them smile. Animals have such hearty personalities as it is. Using them as a 'topping' for a vintage photo body can really take a collage to unexpected places!"

As you can see, this diversionary foray into art has led me down quite the fantastical journey. Coincidentally, one of the Brooklyn Museum's current exhibitions is called Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity: perhaps I will see you there!

Enjoy all of the anthropomorphism!