If I Build It, Will They Come?

As I sit here looking out at the backyard that I share with my boyfriend Jake and our dog Poppy, I see a mix of probably 50 to 75 english sparrows and house finches eating seed, taking dirt baths and drinking and splashing around in the bird bath.  We live three blocks plus the Los Angeles River from the I-5 freeway in Atwater Village.  It’s not the most obvious place for bird watching, but I’m up for the challenge.  I guess you could say I’ve come to phase one in my process of attracting wild birds to, and making art in, our backyard.  And..This is what has led up to phase one:

This project for me started as an experimental proposal for the CGU (Claremont Graduate University) Art Journal. The question Alex Moore and Emily Smith proposed for the journal, “Objective Affection,” was this:

“Typically CGU students are thought of as object makers; that we “find formal solutions to conceptual problems.”  If this is so, why? What is the value of the object? Why is form important? What are the politics of your aesthetic decisions and what are the limitations of the object?

And this was my response to the question:

I built four 12” by 12” square plywood platforms attached horizontally to the top of four 5’ wood poles. I ‘adorned’ each platform and pole combination in a different manner. This ‘adornment’ included rhinestones, sequins, fabric, jewelry, antique china, silver candlesticks, etc.  These objects were affixed securely to the platforms and poles.  I then installed all four in my backyard and added wild birdseed (equal amounts) to the top of each platform. Over the course of a day, I photographed any bird interaction with the pieces that I saw.  For those concerned, there were no loose or toxic materials for the birds to encounter or ingest that would harm them.  The strictest care was made to insure their safety while interacting with (eating off of) the platforms.

And why would I do such a thing?

Well, beside the excuse to glue rhinestones to things, I wanted to address the question of object making by taking the object beyond the human context and introducing it to a non-human audience.  My intention was to bring up questions about the objects we value as a culture and the associated ‘weight’ specific objects carry for us, whether socio economic, historical or sentimental.  The visual absurdity and juxtaposition of these forms with the wild birds was essential to the idea and question.

I believe as humans we are inherent object makers.  I think it’s the way we process our experience in the world and solve problems.  I am intensely fascinated by the strangeness of the human animal and the way that the ‘natural world’ potentially perceives us and our objects. I was assuming that the birds would find little to no value in any of the ‘valuable’ objects they encountered on the platforms beyond their physical use as places to perch while eating the seed. Although they did shy away from the shiniest platform, this was definitely the case.

Because a component of the experiment was dependent on bird interaction in real time, I also thought about the issue of ephemeral and temporal experience being translated into an art object through photography.  The photographs that were published in the journal on some level, function like segregates for the actual experience, but are also complete art objects in themselves.  I’m interested in furthering this idea of capturing a moment in time and pushing both it’s strengths and limitations.  

The object itself was as essential to this process as the avian interaction and documentation of the experience.  Without it’s physical form this interspecies physical, sensory, absurd, humorous experiment and dialogue couldn’t exist.

I learned a thing or two in the process…

The biggest realization, and I know it seems obvious, but I really grasped it on a whole new level, was that I was on bird time.  I had to be patient and I had to be quiet and slow moving…but mostly patient.  I initially put all four of the platforms against our garage door.  Visually I thought they looked great and that way I could control the experiment.  I could easily see which platform they preferred and make a note and photograph of it.  Unfortunately I was thinking like a human.  I’m not exactly sure why, but they were extremely hesitant to approach all four platforms together. There were a couple brave souls that ate from the gold jewelry platform, but the others lay empty of birds.  I had to think quickly because I was on a deadline.  If the birds didn’t come, there was no project.  I decided to spread the platforms out.  I placed two against the fence and one on either side of the garage.

My back up plan was that knowing our local squirrels are fairly fearless, as long as the platform were against the fence, they would get to the seed.  At least I would have pictures of squirrels!   But the birds did come, and by they I mean, house finches and house sparrows…and yes, some squirrels.

In the few months following this experiment  I’ve decided to make a large natural history museum inspired diorama as a backdrop to photograph the birds.  It’s still unfolding and evolving, but my thoughts are now shifting to ideas of human manipulated environments.

No offense to house finches and house sparrows, I think they are wonderful, but for this next step, I want to attract a more diverse group of birds in addition to these two species.  So I’ve started the process of making our backyard into a desirable place for birds…a bird garden of sorts.  Last year we set up the garden to feed ourselves and this year three quarters of that same space is being planted to feed and shelter birds. I have much to learn yet, and will continue to research and experiment.  This blog is intended to be a place to record and share this journey as well as receive thoughts and feedback from other bird, art and nature lovers.  Stay tuned and please share any thoughts that you may have…