Two for Mirth
Total size of the installation is 12'x7'x7' (about 3.7m x 2m x 2m); each bird is 15 inches (38 cm) long, has a wingspan of 20 inches (51 cm) and weighs about 3-4 lbs (1.4-1.7 kg). It took 22 hours to install; over 12 of those hours were just hanging the birds on a specially-constructed frame on the ceiling. The rest of the time was mostly building and hanging the frame and troubleshooting. I was aided by three people.
There are 34 birds in this installation (even though I made 50...) All of them take the shape of yellow-billed magpies, though only two of them are painted as such. The rest are a very shiny pearlescent white and their feet and beaks are painted with a gouache made of powdered bronze. The black ones also have an irridescent green sheen on the upper surfaces of their wings and tails. They are made of hydrostone and attached with monofilament to a frame made of of wood and chicken wire.
The black ones are the only two that currently have names (except for one of the white birds): Munin (top) and Hugen (bottom). (There's a white one named Stumpy. I picked it up wrong and it broke into three pieces, and he body fell to the floor and landed squarely on the beak. The beak was literally pulverized. There weren't even any major pieces I could glue back on, it was just a pile of white dust, so I filed what was left of the beak into a point and named the bird Stumpy. I'm not sure what happened to Stumpy, though. I'm not sure he made it into the final piece.)
These two black ones have a really gorgeous, yet incredibly subtle, green irridescent sheen on the back of the wings and tails like real magpies. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't really pick it up, but you can see little hints of it on Hugen's wings.
YAAAAY IT'S DONE! I DON'T HAVE TO WORK ON IT ANY MOOOORE!!!
The gallery opening is next Thursday, April the 5th. They're printing up some brochure-type things that have our artist statements in them and a small photograph (there are 30 of us art major's in the show. It's not reasonable to put our statements and stuff on the walls because there is no room.) This is what I submit:
------
"I am an avid birdwatcher and I consider it to be part of who I am. In my many years of engaging in this hobby, I have seen countless incredible sights. However, I see most of them from a distance, with a great barrier of space between us. Every once in a while, though, there is a spontaneous close encounter. It’s a time when you and another living thing exchange glances or calls or even just share space for a moment. There is a sudden feeling of connection with the creature of the wilderness, and it’s one of the most magical feelings in the world. I don’t know if it’s possible to duplicate that certain brand of magic, but at least I can say it was what I had in mind.
There’s a rhyme about magpies that has been floating about for the last 400 years. Presumably, one can tell one’s fortune by counting the number of magpies in a passing flock. The poem seems to have as many versions as there are people to hear it, but one popular version goes like this:
One for sorrow, two for mirth,
Three for marriage, four for birth,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
Eight for heaven, nine for hell,
Ten for the devil’s own sel’."
----
There was also an article about me in the paper a few weeks ago. I managed to get my hands on a tangible copy last weekend so I'm scanning it instead of linking to the online version because the newspaper copy looks cooler. :B LINKED FOR HUGENESS OF IMAGES. I got front page of the living secton! 8D BOOYAH!
I was also mentioned a few times in this article at my school!