I spent half an hour this morning at the Masterworks Gallery where I met the artist Emily Valentine whose work is currently exhibited there.
Emily's sculpture "Mynah Messiah" was the inspiration for my poem of the same name, in issue #30 of JAAM. I gave her my copy.
Typically, I was a bundle of nerves and barely got a coherent word out, but Emily was very lovely and told me all about her inspiration and some of the process behind her work. As she smoothed some of the feathers on the pieces suspended from the ceiling with wires, I asked if people often got the urge to touch her work (I was fighting it). She said these ruffles were from people bumping into the work.
We talked about each piece in the exhibition. She told me "Air Gull" was inspired by the "Miracle on the Hudson", and lots of other stuff.
On my way out, I bumped my head on "Peacoctalina".
8 comments:
Really interesting work, I am hugely taken by Peacoctalina, but I'm finding Air Gull more macabre - the fact that is still obviously a gull disturbs me a little. May have to think further.
There's no taxidermy involved, JoAnne - Emily only uses road kill or birds that were already dead. The seagull came via a fisherman friend who found it dead out at sea. Only the feathers, feet and beak were used - glued onto a plastic model of a plane. It's really a comment on how humans have taken over the birds' air space, often killing many birds in the process. All Emily's work raises questions about one species being privilleged over another, and by extrapolation, it's anti-racist. You should see the dog birds!
Anyway, good to see you - hope you're well.
Eye-catching work, and an interesting way to comment on the way our air travel affects the natural world.
I like the feathered dogs! I think the wings are a step too far, though, they look too unnatural (which I know is a weird thing to object to in the circumstances, but there you go).
Great to be able to present the artist with a copy of the story she inspired. I'm sure she enjoyed it.
The feathered dogs are a sight to behold, Dan, so much so I had to keep looking at the price tags to remind myself why I wasn't allowed to touch them!
Hope they've inspired you, too!
No, wasn't even remotely worried if it had once been a living gull! I'm heartless like that. More the fact that it was a plane seagull. That disturbed me. Which is what some art does, obviously. Still can't resolve my thoughts on it. I appreciate the point the artist seeks to make, but...
I find the live gulls more disturbing. I mean, how do they KNOW I have food in my bag? Can't be rid of them...
Would a fancy seagull have been less disturbing? Ho hum, any chance for a pun...
I love her dogs with wings. I'm glad my two don't have them. Flying Chihuahuas would not be a good thing.
They'd be so cute, though, Mike!
Post a Comment