Jeffrey A. Raasch's Manimal, made with talc, clay and acrylic paint.
The Museum’s contest to name this sculpture in 2011 drew over 350 submissions, from people of all ages living in and around Hickory and beyond.

Jef Raasch says of his work, “My sculpture represents the symbiosis of life; all creatures mixing together to form a greater existence.” He draws his inspiration from mythical creatures as well as from his concern over the threat of the extinction of many plants and animals. The life-size human form of Manimal is composed of dozens of different animal species, most native to North Carolina.

Raasch creates in clay, using representations of real animals as the building blocks. “[I] feel the clay ooze between my fingers. With it I fashion the things I've seen and imagined, into the three dimensional canvas onto which I paint. … I do not pre-draw my designs; rather I start with an idea and allow a story to unfold on the piece. From there I like to take the elements and visually stack and mix them into a rich mélange. … Once fired I then have a three-dimensional canvas on which to paint. To me the painting is as important as the sculpting.”

Raasch studied art at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, graduating in 1987. His work has been widely commissioned and shown. A sculpture similar to HMA’s was the “Best of Show Award Winner” at the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis in August 2009. He lives in Milwaukee, WI where he has established his own studio.

Milwaukee PBS video about Raasch’s creative process.

First posted April 23, 2015

Manimal was a gift from the family of Bob and Jo Darnell,  pictured with the winner of the Manimal naming contest Rebekah Nabors, who credited her 1-year-old son Tommy with the inspiration.

On September 12, 2014, Scott Owens' poem about Manimal, then displayed behind a museum glass door, was posted on Art of Poetry at the Hickory Museum of Art.

SEEN THROUGH A GLASS DOOR
After “Manimal” by Jeffrey A. Raasch

A thing like a man knows no peace.

A thing like a man carries the past

in his hands, refusing to give up anything.

A thing like a man wants more.

A thing like a man doesn’t mean to be

mean, or callous, or cruel.

A thing like a man is never satisfied.

A thing like a man will wander

through his house at night looking

for ways to make things better.

A thing like a man knows

he can never know enough,

knows there is never enough time.

A thing like a man knows

the shadow beneath his feet

will eventually prevail

and all that will be left of him

is the consequence of what he does.