Tuesday, August 12, 2008

... is the word!

A couple years back Brian came up with a series concept that involved tattoos.

As he fleshed it out it became a pretty interesting idea.

It hasn't really gained any traction because, well, putting it lightly -I'm not a fan of tattoos.

I'll restrain myself from presenting a full blown rant on the matter since this is a "professional" "blog" and I don't want to alienate any ink aficionados (rest assured, I love you even if you're out of the Jewish cemetery).

This morning, though, enough became too much and I must rail to the cybergods about one particular fading blue menace -the bird tattoo.

Was there a new catalog of patterns released to piercing pagodas throughout America recently? Is this just a descendant of the recent "pink stuff and birds" school of Chelsea art?

This morning I tallied six (seven if you count two on one lady) bird tattoos.

Ten years ago if out of six bird tattoos, five would be Tweety Bird (animation reference) -today they're "arty" birds. Like the kind you might get on wrapping paper from the MoMA Design store.

I'd like to see Malcolm Gladwell tackle the bird tattoo in the revised edition of The Tipping Point.

I'd also like to share some great bird illustrations from one of America's greatest artists.


John James Audubon -were he alive today would he have opened shop on St. Mark's?


Some people think bird drawings belong on walls.


Passenger pigeons -I won't rhapsodize on the great Handsome Family song, but I will point out the gentile touch in this painting. The lower bird (the male, I guess) buckling down as his neck thrusts up, pushing his wings skyward and causing a tension in the chest area. The top bird is all curves and lightness. She's exerting no pressure, just letting gravity and the lower bird do all the work.

You can feel the motion in the drawing. See the life.

You almost want to get it stamped on your forearm so it rots with you in the grave.

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