Birdspace: A Post-Audubon Artists Aviary
Southern Arizona is known worldwide to birders for its variety of birds to “watch.” This January bird fans and art fans alike come together and celebrate birds and bird culture with the new exhibition Birdspace: A Post-Audubon Artists Aviary at the Tucson Museum of Art from January 21 – March 12, 2006.
This exhibition brings 19th century American ornithologist John James Audubon’s fascination with birds as subject matter into closer view. Birdspace includes works in all media from the current decade by more than 45 artists including Ernesto Pujol, Anthony Pessler, Kiki Smith, and Alexis Rockman. Within this exhibition, five directions are highlighted:
THE HUMANITY OF ALL LIVING THINGS
Several artists make art about birds that allow them to keep in touch with nature.
MORTALITY, REMEMBRANCE, LOSS AND TRANSFORMATION
Another group of artists finds spiritual meaning in birds, and link them to our own mortality as well as to that of the birds.
IDENTITY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY
For many artists, birds provide useful, accessible metaphors for exploring issues of identity or autobiography.
SATIRICAL GAMING
The final group in the exhibition accepts the bird as an ever-present element of popular culture.
Birdspace is a traveling exhibition curated by David S. Rubin, Curator of Visual Arts, at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. A full-color catalog is available. This exhibition is made possible by the generosity of Tucson-Pima Arts Council, Arizona Commission on the Arts, and Elizabeth Smith.
