wardoggie: lies: schoolofvisualarts: The Modern Family by AJ…
lies:
The Modern Family by AJ Frena
I wonder if the artist intended both apparent (at least to a birdwatcher) interpretations of “Modern Family”. Not only is the nest constructed from a lot of modern trash, but unless I’m mistaken both adult birds are male.
Even if the second sense was accidental, it’s timely that it comes through the day after four (or, more sadly, five) US Supreme Court justices betrayed a willingness in their questions during oral arguments to perpetuate discriminatory treatment of same-sex couples.
I’m the artist, so I’ll shed some light on this.
The two birds being male was my ignorance. I seriously did not know the difference, it was a blunder.
The piece is actually about my own family and how it has been affected by drugs and alcohol. The title is tongue in cheek.
I’m a member of the lgbt community, so the last thing I intended was for people to interpret my piece as something negative against it.
Oh wow, thanks for clarifying that.
If it came across that I thought the piece was making a negative statement against the lgbt community, that was a mistake on my part. Because I don’t think that at all. I think this is a really lovely and evocative piece (albeit one featuring some obvious ugliness by virtue of the incorporation of urban trash into the nest).
I suspected that having both birds be male might have been an accident, because a non-birdwatcher probably would not be aware that house sparrows (Passer domesticus) are sexually dimorphic, with the males having the dark bibs and relatively bold facial markings seen on these birds, while females are plainer. On the other hand, from an ornithological standpoint the painting is so well-done that I wondered if you maybe were aware. Both in terms of the depiction of the birds themselves and of the nest, these are house sparrows through and through. I’ve spent a lifetime observing birds and enjoying artistic representations of them, and from that perspective this is beautifully done.
House sparrows are a really interesting bird. Native to Europe and Asia, they were introduced into North America in 1852 in New York, and quickly covered much of the continent. Today they’re probably the most widely-distributed bird in the world, a reflection of how well-adapted they are to living around humans. As the human species has come to dominate the modern landscape, house sparrows have spread along with them.
I’ve seen many house sparrow nests that incorporate urban trash in a manner similar to what you’ve shown here, though your image pushes it farther in making what I assume is an intentional (and effective) statement.
Anyway, thank you again for making this. If there is any more information available about the piece, I’d be really interested in learning more about it.
Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/46429990024.
Tags: house sparrow, passer domesticus, artwork, wardoggie, AJ Frena.
