"Flying"
Jewelery enamel on steel -
Depictions of birds and animals by people who live in cities and eat
farmed food is necessarily different from the wonderful animal images
created by artists in primitive cultures. We do not have a life or death
relationship with these creatures, a passion for those whose bodies
ensure our survival, and the strong emotions aroused when they are
killed for food. Instead our appreciation of birds and animals centers
mainly on their appearance, their physical beauty.
Because of this, contemporary art based on bird and animal images are
often very one-dimensional because beauty alone cannot tell us enough.
But what can we say about or through, say, birds? It is for each
individual to work out the message. In the case of the above picture, the
idea is to use an image of flight to depict force, speed and purpose,
elements very familiar to people in the 20th century. The stripes stand
for time and space, through which the bird is passing. But the way it
feels to move is also expressed, otherwise an image of an airplane could
have sufficed. The small wings stand for the sense of confinement in
city living.
Pat Johnson © 1997-2007
