Pigeons as art? At what price?
“Augmented reality” is going to be the next big thing in tech – but here’s an artist with a low-budget version: pigeon-painting.
Pigeons have a credibility problem. As a species, we increasingly hate on them (there’s even a technical term for fear of pigeons: peristerophobia). With nicknames including “sky rats” and “flying ashtrays,” their current-day status belies their importance in world history…and so it’s overdue for a makeover.
Berlin artists Julian Charriere and Julius von Bismarck decided to take this sentiment at face value.
…and paint the pigeons of Venice…
…all colors of the rainbow.
The aim was to try to make pigeons more attractive to the public in the most straightforward way possible. Fun way to raise awareness? Perhaps, but there’s the question of how it benefits the unwilling participants and their mating habits (unless they were painted in pairs?) – not to mention the fact that they’re suddenly far more visible to natural predators and pigeon haters alike…
How do you feel about it?
All images: Julian Charriere & Julius von Bismark, via design boom.