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November / December 2008

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Flights of Fancy

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Art professor's sculptures honor extinct birds

Todd McGrain

Museum-goers are usually prevented from touching artworks by plate glass, velvet ropes, or a guard's scowl—but not at the Lost Bird Project, where visitors are encouraged to handle giant sculptures of extinct birds. Designed by art professor Todd McGrain, the pieces serve as a memorial to five species whose extinction was caused by humans: the Labrador duck, heath hen, Carolina parakeet, great auk, and passenger pigeon. Each standing about six feet tall and weighing between 700 and 900 pounds, the sculptures took McGrain five years to create. Cast in bronze and covered in black patina, they reflect light and are smooth to the touch. "The birds ask for serious consideration from viewers," McGrain says, "because they are obviously monumental in scale."

In addition to the sculptures, the exhibit comprises detailed drawings and stories about the birds and the circumstances that led to their extinction. In March the sculptures will move from their current home at the Lab of Ornithology for permanent installation at the locations where each species is believed to have been last sighted. (The duck, for example, will go to Elmira.) This spring, a second of McGrain's great auks will be installed at Rome's Zoological Museum, and he will continue to create more copies of the birds for other venues. By celebrating the creatures in art, McGrain hopes to preserve their memory. "With the tragedy of extinction comes a second tragedy, which is forgetting about the birds," he says. "That's my task—to fight off that second extinction."

— Jamie Leonard '09

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 November 2008 )

CLASS NOTES

Twice a year I give “flying lessons” at College Park (MD) Aviation Museum.
Sabra “Piper” Baker Staley ’51