NEW YORK, NY.- Bird: Exploring the Winged World presents a remarkable survey of the avian kingdom, celebrating the beauty and popular appeal of birds throughout art, history, ornithology and culture. Bird includes nearly 300 works of all types, from richly painted medieval manuscripts, to remarkable high-speed photography, revealing how artists, illustrators, ornithologists and photographers – from the ancient world to the present – have captured birds’ likeness, character or symbolism.
Curated by an international panel of experts, this rich collection showcases the remarkable diversity of species, from tiny hummingbirds to ostriches taller than humans, and icebound penguins to tropical macaws. The images chosen come from a broad ensemble of artists, designers, illustrators and scientists – from the renowned to the unexpected – including John James Audubon, Banksy, Margaret Bourke-White, Albrecht Dürer, Tracey Emin, Peter Carl Fabergé, John Gould, Ernst Haeckel, Charley Harper, Hokusai, Frida Kahlo, René Magritte, Ustad Mansur, Maria Sybilla Merian, Frans Snyders and Sarah Stone.
Regardless of period, images are arranged in a visually stunning sequence and juxtaposed to elicit reflections on their similarities and contrasts. Discover exquisitely detailed paintings created for East India Company patrons in the eighteenth century that combine Mughal and European traditions alongside riotous contemporary art installations where birds play electric guitars. Learn about early efforts to understand and depict bird anatomy during the Renaissance as well as the latest coloured x-ray images that blur the boundary between science and art. Whether staged in illusionistic dioramas, sketched in calligraphic brushstrokes or sculpted in marble, birds continue to arouse humanity’s deepest sense of wonder and inspire efforts to observe, record, understand and preserve these creatures of the sky, land and oceans.
Criteria for Inclusion
• Works include birds as a central motif or depicts a bird-related subject or pattern
• Works by key figures in art history, ornithological illustration, and highquality wildlife photography
• Works covering a broad range of techniques and types of birds (e.g. painting, illustration; field guide and taxonomic studies, taxidermy and dioramas, imaginary and mythical birds)
• Artists for whom birds are a central subject in their work, not necessarily just artworks that depict birds
• Historical or cultural significance of the image or subject depicted
• Innovative or exemplary style (key technological developments, etc.)
• Aesthetic appeal and composition
• International selection of artists and bird types
Editorial Approach
Bird: Exploring the Winged World takes the same format and structure as other volumes in Phaidon’s bestselling Explorer Series (Animal, Anatomy, Flower, Map, Plant, and Universe ): each entry is presented on a single page with a largeformat image, detailed caption information, and a short explanatory text. The text explains the historical and cultural importance of the work, its aesthetic appeal or innovation, and the type of bird(s) depicted when possible.
Aimed at a wide audience, the book will have diverse appeal – from artists,
designers, art historians to subject specialists including bird watchers, wildlife photographers, conservationists, as well as the general reader. The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject, but also includes surprising or lesser-known examples for specialists.
The book follows a curated sequence: works, regardless of period, are thoughtfully
paired to allow interesting and revealing juxtapositions between them.
Subjects Covered
• Symbolism and importance of various types of bird across different cultures
• Naturalistic xiesheng (‘sketch of life’) style in tenth century Chinese painting
• The importing of birds to Europe during the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age
• Depiction of birds in art by indigenous cultures worldwide
• Art and pictorial records of endangered or extinct species of bird including the dodo and passenger pigeon
• Taxidermy and the art of dioramas from natural history museums to use in contemporary art
• Birds as political and geographical symbols, including the state birds of the USA
• Birds in fashion and jewellery
• Early ornithological treatises including bestiaries
• Birds in everyday life and popular culture – from stamps, included in
decorative textiles, on money and in films
• Endangered species and issues of conservation including window strikes and impact of pesticides
