Every so often, I notice that a particular visual motif appears with increasing frequency. For the past couple of years, illustrations of songbirds, crows and chickens have been attracting my attention from all quarters and I wonder why such unassuming subjects seem suddenly to be so popular. In many cases, our humble feathered friends have acquired a seemingly hip caché as they associate with contemporary artists and the denizens of bars and nightclubs. Are these birds to the 2000s what owls and mushrooms were to the 1970s? What is it about these creatures that resonates with the current collective psyche? Is it their shyness? Their fragility (often emphasized by delicate line and color)? Do they symbolize the bucolic desires of city dwellers? Is this back to nature, Aughties style? Do we wish for a little art in our natural science?

A modest cross-section, from local to corporate:

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