Feast of Beasts

Three-headed dogs, mermaids, and unicorns are the stuff of legends. Still, a host of these imaginary beasts managed to find their way into a recent exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

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More About

• Sarah Hurwitz
• American Museum of Natural History
• Harry Potter
• Stevie Nicks
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

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That show inspired local artist Sarah Hurwitz to create “Meat Market,” an art exhibit that demystifies exotic beasts. Hurwitz was struck by the subtle differences between historical references to such creatures as ogres and chimera and the pop-culture Harry Potter versions we’re familiar with.

Either way, she has a good idea of what would happen if any of these beasts were real. “Mythical creatures carry a legend of adventure, magic and general Stevie Nicks-like awesomeness,” she writes in her artist’s statement. “In actuality, they most likely would have ended up as bacons, roasts and bologna.” To visually represent that hypothesis Hurwitz created a butcher shop of mythical animal products, from manticore blood and dragon lard to home-smoked Cerberus bacon and centaur steak.