Fellow Bird-watchers,
We enjoyed our first class together listening to a great
story The Boy Who Drew Birds. All the students had wonderful
stories to share about their own experiences with birds, loved it. We
discussed what artists and birders have in common, the need to observe. I
had the students color in a line drawing of a blue jay, trying to copy the colorings
of a blue jay photograph. Then working in groups they compared the style
of John James Audubon to that of Charley Harper. Here are some images of
Harper’s art. Click here for a link to http://www.bing.com/images/results.aspx?q=charley+harper+birds&form=MSNH14&pc=UP97&refig=97e2f029af02485382ac6efd23d68f2f&sc=8-14&sp=2&qs=IM&sk=IM1&pq=charley+harper#a
They did a fantastic job noticing the detail and texture and
behavior of the birds depicted in Audubon’s work in comparison to the more
abstracted designs of Harper. We discussed how Audubon’s job was to
depict these birds as realistic as possible because he was documenting North
American birds some for the first time. This was before the invention of
the camera, this is pivotal in the art world. Harper lived 100 years
after Audubon.
Harper developed an early appreciation and love of animals
as well as design. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College and graduated
from the Cincinnati Art Academy, where he also taught for many years.
Gradually, Harper began to lose his interest in realism. "I felt shackled
by the laws of perspective and shading and decided that the constant attempt to
create the illusion of three dimensions on the two-dimensional plane of the
picture was limiting me as an artist. Realistic painting persuades the viewer
that he is looking into space rather than at a flat surface. It denies the
picture plane, which I affirm and use as an element of design. Wildlife art has
been dominated by realism, but I have chosen to do it differently because I
think flat, hard-edge and simple."
I look forward to the weeks ahead. In the meantime
continue watching for and identifying birds at home. I am including
information about the great backyard bird count that we can all participate
in. The weekend is coming up in February. There are simple
instructions you can print out or read online. This would be a great
activity to link birding and conservation.
Click here for a link to http://birds.audubon.org/great-backyard-bird-count
Also, the Audubon site has some fun activities. One I
mentioned was the live bird cam. Click here for a link to the website http://web4.audubon.org/educate/kids/
This link has some games and the camera links are on the
right-side under "Now Playing".