MENagerie: A FINAL MAJOR PROJECT: RESEARCH & INFLUENCE

LOOKING AT ANTHROPOMORPHISM:

I've loved anthropomorphic imagery since my early days of reading The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. As an illustrative tool, it has become such a part of our culture that its peculiarity and shock value is completely diluted. As long as there has been children's books, advertising and cartoons, anthropomorphism has been a major part of it. The kind I like, however, is the kind that stands apart, makes more of a statement. It's more about why the artist has chosen that animal and that body, that pose and that expression, those clothes or that environment. Until I started this project I don't think I'd recognised quite how much of the work I love is influenced by anthropomorphism, here follows a vastly cut-down but large collection of some of the work that has helped shape my own investigations:

ANGELA ROSSI A.KA. BEAT UP CREATIONS

Beat Up Creations is a brilliant Etsy store which sells 're-purposed' plates and other similar items. Her overall influence is anthropomorphic and, like me, many of her animals get a good 80's makeover. I love her work and can definitely attribute it to influencing my own.

http://www.beatupcreations.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeatUpCreations

Angela Rossi a.k.a. Beat Up Creations

Angela Rossi a.k.a. Beat Up Creations

Angela Rossi a.k.a. Beat Up Creations

RHYS OWENS
I love his style and the added menace in his drawings - he manages to make the onlooker uncomfortable with the mere implications behind his imagery.

http://www.behance.net/hiddenmoves

Rhys Owens

MARIANNE RATIER

I love Marianne Ratier's work, the bunny in a tracksuit (below) has been an image I've had stuck to my noticeboard long before I even started my degree. I particularly love the tiny feet.

http://marianneratier.com/

Marianne Ratier

ANAIS GENOT

Although she uses photos to create her images, Anais Genot's tones and colour palette really make her whimsical figures work beautifully. Each figure having its own unique characteristics.

http://anaisgenot.com/2012/01/dessine-moi/

Anais Genot

CYNTHIA CONSENTINO

I'm a big fan of Consentino's drawing style, the delicate pencil work against the super realistic animal heads. I also really love her sculptures - her work embodies all that I love about anthropomorphism as an illustrative device.

http://www.cynthiaconsentino.com/

Cynthia Consentino

LAUREN MORTIMER

I remember seeing Lauren's work at a show just after she graduated - the images are life-size and seriously stunning. I particularly love her 'Most Wanted' series (see below).

http://www.laurenmortimer.co.uk/home/