work week

I felt strongly about my concept and wanted my concern to be communicated though my art.
Here are some of the changes I've made to my piece over the last week.

1. windows
-I cut to size 9 different plexiglass panes that range in hight from 8ft to 3 ft
-the plexiglass can be more easily recognized as representative of buildings (less domestic)
2. reflection
-each plexiglass pane was covered with a reflective film (used for cars)
-the reflection mimics that of a downtown skyscraper
-participants better understand THEIR involvement in the issue as they notice their own reflection
3. spot lights
-stronger lighting refer to the blinding light a migratory bird would find disorienting in the city
4. bird impressions
-stencils were cut from bird imprints found online
-applied to windows with baby powder and brushes
-a way of showing violence without blood (I didn't want anything fake in the piece)
5. space
-I repositioned the windows to be tighter together
-the idea of walking through the space has been eliminated
6. participation
-normal household light switch is positioned against the wall
-speaks to how easily we could save so many lives - just flick off the light switch
7. structure
-I built a 4ft x 4ft wooden structure from which to hang the plexiglass from
-this way the orientation of the plexi will be the same anywhere I install the piece
8. processing/arduino
-processing sketch and an arduino were hidden above the piece on the wooden structure (code)
-the sounds of birds repeatedly hitting windows would play once the light switch had been turned on
-I recorded the sounds by using different objects to mimic the thudding sound of a bird (listen)

revisit bird impressions

Some time ago I had an interesting conversation concerning the direction of my thesis project with Michael Mesure, the executive director of the Fatal Light Awareness Program here in Toronto. At the time I had a very vague idea of the way my artwork was going to come together physically. Michael spoke about the way in which a bird will leave a vivid imprint of itself when it collides with a window. This is the result of how migratory birds bathe, in dust.

I am returning to this idea of bird impressions against glass as it could denote the violent act of a bird hitting a window all while drawing the viewer closer as they view the almost beautiful rendering. I find the detail of the wings to be very striking.
I found a flickr group which collects images of these bird collisions. (link)
Below are some examples of stencils I made to try and recreate the powdery imprint left my birds on windows.

While I am satisfied with the stencilled outlines, I would find out if it is possible to press real birds against glass and attain the same detailed effect. My next step then is to speak with Mark Peck at the ROM about using real birds.

critique

I received some constructive feedback today that will need to be considered if I plan on being in META next month. Here are some aspects of my piece that need to be changed by next week.
1. choice of materials
-wooden frames did not effectively represent Toronto skyscrapers
-experience has become personal and domestic (not what I want)
2. feathers
-the falling birds composed of feathers lack drama
-add thudding sound or visual element such as blood (subtle)
3. lights
-dimmer seemed to suggest looking for optimal amount of light (wrong message)
-on/off switch would work better - still is able to reveal birds
-lights chosen do not focus on birds enough
4. space
-does walking between the windows add to the work's message? (no)

Overall, people understood my concept but weren't making connections.
No sleeping for the next few days…

sketchup

I learned Google SketchUp over the winter break to design my artwork to scale.
Here are some designs of my piece.

meeting @ ROM #2

I met with Mark Peck today at the ROM for our second meeting. Having been green lit with my thesis proposal last semester, I outlined the amount of feathers I would require and possibility of attempting to stuff several birds for my piece. Mark was more than happy to help me as long as I contacted a permit officer at the Canadian Wildlife Services and requested an educational salvage permit for the feathers of migratory birds as they are protected under federal and provincial laws. He advised that I act quickly as permits may take some time to process.