The chirping of birds and cock-a-doodle-doing of roosters will become sounds of art when you visit the newest exhibition at the Contemporary Art Galleries (CAG) on campus, "Ornithology: Looking at Birds", open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday 1 - 4 p.m. until April 3.
The CAG has collaborated with several other departments at the university including mathematics, business, and the library to create unique and education-related exhibits. This time CAG has joined forces with UConn's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to design an exhibit that requires more than a bird's-eye-view to observe.
The show presents a diverse mix of images, video, sound clips, sculpture and other works featuring birds as its underlying theme. The show is not meant to be an experience of bird-watching, however. The 21 artists of this exhibit use images of and themes associated with birds to raise provocative questions about the human condition and the actions of our civilization.
Some of the artworks in the gallery are traditional sketches or paintings of birds. Most of the pieces, though, are contemporary and deal with weighty issues, such as biologist/artist Carsten Höller's "Birds", portraits of one-of-a-kind hybrid birds, doomed to certain extinction, or Peter Edlund's "Homage to James Byrd (after J.J. Audubon)", in memory of the African-American victim of a 1998 hate crime.
"All of our shows mix emerging artists with contemporary modern masters. There are many exhibitions about birds," said Barry Rosenberg, director of CAG, "but this one is about us - looking at birds. The show features works that have to do with all sorts of different issues like the destruction of forests, smuggling birds into the US, mass food production, and extinction."
The gallery may seem small, but the variety of styles, messages, and mediums of the different artworks is compelling. Even a clip from the hit series Grey's Anatomy makes an artistic appearance. "When the importance of birds gets to be pop culture, its pretty cool," said Rosenberg.
A large photograph, titled "Le Plaisir" by Johan Grimonprez, is a striking centerpiece. It depicts a beautiful blonde woman, her mouth dripping with blood who has just taken a bite out an equally beautiful white bird that she is offering to the viewer. The photo is an unmistakable nod to the Alfred Hitchcock classic, "The Birds", and puts a dramatic flair on the contrast of beauty and horror.
Morbid photographs like "Le Plaisir" as well as pleasant pictures and poems greet visitors of the exhibition in a confusing yet intriguing manner.
Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" is highlighted in the work of Vik Muniz, an artist who has been featured in CAG's shows before.
A film titled "The Birdpeople" by Michael Gitlin puts another interesting spin on the idea of birdwatching as art, following the activities of birdwatchers in New York City's Central Park- instead of the birds themselves.
Through the deceptively simple figure of the bird, the works on display explore themes of race and gender relations, emerging and evolving global politics, economics and environmental change.
Contact Katie Hannafin at Katherine.Hannafin@UConn.edu.
*The original headline on this article indicated that the show was at the Benton Museum. This is incorrect, it is actually at the Contemporary Art Galleries. We regret the error.
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