A full-day workshop in the alternative art of rogue taxidermy will take place Saturday, November 1 at Paint the Town Mobile, located at 412 Dauphin Street downtown. The six-hour class runs from noon to 6 p.m. and will be taught by Katie Innamorato, who has been featured on the Discovery Channel shows Oddities and its spinoff Odd Folks Home.
Participants will choose between a guinea pig or rat specimen and will learn techniques for creating a finished mounting they can take home. All materials are included in the $215 ticket price, available via advance purchase or at the door.
What Is Rogue Taxidermy?
Rogue taxidermy is a category of pop-surrealist art characterized by mixed media sculptures containing conventional taxidermy-related materials used in an unconventional manner. The term was coined about ten years ago by the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, where Innamorato serves on the board of directors.
Unlike traditional deer mounts, rogue taxidermy operates under specific ethical guidelines. Specimens come from roadkill, discarded livestock remnants, casualties of the pet trade, animals that died of natural causes, and destroyed nuisance animals. The non-traditional posturing and multimedia approach often attempt to create visual dialogue or take on alternate meaning beyond simple lifelike poses.
Becoming Part of the Art Scene
Innamoratos work has won multiple awards and appeared in publications including VICE magazine. Suzy Beique from Paint the Town said she was eager to host the event after being approached about the opportunity. The class aims to introduce South Alabama residents to a practice that is gaining wider acceptance in the art world as both creative expression and respectful reuse of materials that would otherwise be discarded.
Advance purchases are appreciated to help the instructor prepare, though walk-up registration will be accepted.