Trend Spotter! Stag Heads With Human Faces

by Art Fag City on January 19, 2010 · 18 comments Events

POST BY PADDY JOHNSONkate clark, art fag city
Kate Clark, Lit From Within, Gazelle hide, Antlers, Clay, and Mixed Media, Opening at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, CT

Some trends never die. Take the stag-head-with-human-face genre of art making: The art-object animal-hybrid of the late 90’s has been out of vogue for so long it’s difficult to imagine a situation in which these forms will take on a new life. And yet I continue to see these works at fairs and galleries.

Over the past two days, I’ve been trying to pin down the genre’s antecedents. Recent conversations suggest Marcel Dzama and Tony Oursler have influenced such artists, though it’s hard to believe these two professionals alone have had such an enduring effect on the stag-human-face movement. The Frida Kahlo revival in the 80’s may be the better pick in this regard, Little Deer now a universally known painting. (Thanks Martin!)

Ultimately, the answers to these questions probably don’t matter: the phenomenon is merely a mildly amusing blip in the contemporary art landscape. As such, with the help of a few facebook friends, I’ve put together a small survey of work in this enduring genre.

kate clark, art fag city
Kate Clark, For Keeps, Impala hide, Antlers, Clay, and Mixed Media, 34 x 26 x 17 inches

This pair’s for your bedroom!

art fag city, michael samyn
Michaël Samyn, The Endless Forest, 2007, video game still

Admittedly Michael Samyn’s human-faced deers fall into the genre of work you like even though you know it’s bad. I like the attempt to bring the language of fine art to a video game, even if it fails in doing so.

jeff lemeire, art fag city
Jeff Lemeire, Sweet Tooth

This may be a dubious inclusion, as it seems slightly outside the field of fine art.

art fag city, Rona Pondick, ram's head
Rona Pondick, Ram's Head (wall), 2000—01, Yellow-blue stainless steel, Edition of 6, 8 x 24 x 10 1/2 inches

Straight from the thick of hybrid art discourse. Your time capsule above.

OTHER HYBRIDS

art fag city, abby goodman
Abby Goodman, Animal Hybred series, Butterfly and vintage toy.

At a certain point in art history, artists clearly said, “screw Bambi.” This is the result of their backlash.

art fag city, amy ross
Amy Ross, Snake Charmers 2, work on paper

A snake charmed into a mushroom head. Brilliant!

{ 18 comments }

martin January 19, 2010 at 6:30 pm

i think it started with the frida kahlo revival in the 80’s.

http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/The-Little-Deer.html

martin January 19, 2010 at 2:30 pm

i think it started with the frida kahlo revival in the 80’s.

http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/The-Little-Deer.html

Art Fag City January 19, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Good call.

Art Fag City January 19, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Good call.

dylan d January 19, 2010 at 7:26 pm

Don’t forget the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke

http://educatedpony.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forest_spirit2.jpg

dylan d January 19, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Don’t forget the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke

http://educatedpony.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forest_spirit2.jpg

Michael Bilsborough January 19, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Michael Bilsborough January 19, 2010 at 3:31 pm
291 January 20, 2010 at 5:18 pm

They all owe a debt to the anthropomorphic stag’s head sculptures pioneered by Dr. Seuss:

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/droolicious/2009/01/greenlidded_lg.gif

291 January 20, 2010 at 1:18 pm

They all owe a debt to the anthropomorphic stag’s head sculptures pioneered by Dr. Seuss:

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/droolicious/2009/01/greenlidded_lg.gif

Grace Graupe-Pillard January 21, 2010 at 2:20 am

David True painted the most wonderful deer/stags in the ’70’s. They did not literally have human heads but they felt excruciatingly human – vulnerable and almost painful in their sad beauty. He showed them at Edward Thorp in Soho and i was a big fan.

Grace Graupe-Pillard January 20, 2010 at 10:20 pm

David True painted the most wonderful deer/stags in the ’70’s. They did not literally have human heads but they felt excruciatingly human – vulnerable and almost painful in their sad beauty. He showed them at Edward Thorp in Soho and i was a big fan.

justin stephens January 22, 2010 at 8:45 pm

Thank you! So true. Antlers, racks, whatever you want to call them, have been a mega trend in the art world, I would say for at least the past five or six years. Bear heads on people and other animal heads are in the same boat. Perhaps Dzama runoff.
Perhaps the only way pop culture can convey or squeeze out anything related to our connection with the animal kingdom, or the natural world for that matter.

justin stephens January 22, 2010 at 4:45 pm

Thank you! So true. Antlers, racks, whatever you want to call them, have been a mega trend in the art world, I would say for at least the past five or six years. Bear heads on people and other animal heads are in the same boat. Perhaps Dzama runoff.
Perhaps the only way pop culture can convey or squeeze out anything related to our connection with the animal kingdom, or the natural world for that matter.

Anonymous January 25, 2010 at 4:21 pm

You forgot Kiki Smith!

Anonymous January 25, 2010 at 12:21 pm

You forgot Kiki Smith!

Art Fag City January 26, 2010 at 2:29 pm

Just a note: Name calling and trolling comments will not be approved.

Art Fag City January 26, 2010 at 10:29 am

Just a note: Name calling and trolling comments will not be approved.

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