Birds of a Feather
Exhibition & book signing Proposal
KEEL-BILLED TOUCANS (DIPTYCH)
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Humankind has always had a complicated relationship with nature, characterized by awe and admiration, tension and destruction. The human desire to be surrounded by images of nature has been replicated in household ornamentation throughout civilizations. The walls of the imperial villas of Ancient Rome were adorned with frescoes detailing rich flora and fauna. During the Renaissance, Rafael reinvented this ancient style through his grotesques, which depict birds, fruits, and plant life. Carefully crafted representations of the natural world were re- imagined yet again in 19th century Britain when William Morris began producing richly ornamented wallpaper featuring wild birds and vegetation.
Birds of a Feather offers a new perspective on this tradition with portraits of live birds - from the common Parakeet to the exotic Hyacinth Macaw to the stoic Gyrfalcon - photographed against complementary historical and reproduction wallpaper and fabric from the Victorian Era. As the cult of colonization and exploration spread during the Victorian Era in Europe, it yielded brutal discovery and domination of faraway places, creatures and cultures. As these discoveries made their way back to Europe, aviary collection and display as well as a general fascination with the natural world and its exotic inhabitants rose in fashion. This series references that desire to possess the beautiful, wild and exotic, a possession that permanently changes the object of desire through its dislocation. The backgrounds in this series are selected to induce beauty, optical illusion and visual blending, the birds appear to belong when in reality it is a far cry from their natural environment. The birds mirror the careful, self-conscious poses of humans in an unexpected way. Posed, the birds anthropomorphize as we attribute human emotion and intent to their expressions.
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An installation of Birds of a Feather artwork comprising of 36” x 24” and/or 60” x 40” pieces (size and quantity to be determined depending on the space). Artwork can be printed on canvas and framed without glass or printed on paper and framed traditionally. Frame profile to be agreed upon according to the aesthetics of the space. When possible hang artwork on complementary wallpapered walls or painted with an accent color. Include audio of bird calls and songs.
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16.5” x 11” | edition of 15 | $ 800
25.5” x 17” | edition of 10 | $ 2,000
36.0” x 24” | edition of 07 | $ 3,000
60.0” x 40” | edition of 05 | $ 4,000
Limited Edition Archival Pigment Prints on Hahnemuhle German Etching Fine Art Paper. Prints are signed and numbered on the front.
Dimensions refer to the Image Size. Prints have an additional 1" paper white border around the Image Size.
Retail Prices. Prices will rise as edition runs out. Prices do not include Matting, Framing, Mounting, or Installation.
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120 color photographs by Claire Rosen
Hardcover, 8.7” x 12.75” (8 smaller inset pages, 2x4)
208 pages
Painted edge, cloth ribbon
Essays by Femke Speelberg, Joel Sartore, and Claire Rosen
10 quote pages featuring prominent figures in history.
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Stationery Collections
Artist Book which includes a slip case with limited edition print
Signed and Numbered
XL Sumo Book
Hardcover, 20" x 24"
208 pages
Signed and Numbered
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The Process Behind the Pictures
A Brief History of Women in Ornithology during the Victorian Era
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BOOK PREVIEW
(sample pages)
