- Compare to Thomas Cole- why did Audubon and other artists want to document American wildlife at this time? (As urbanization gained momentum, there was a growing sense of nostalgia for what they were about to lose- nature - many animals/plants; massive hunting parties destroyed a lot of wildlife)
- How did they make scientific drawings? (no cameras; either drew animals in nature or, more likely, drew dead animals brought in for the specific purpose of making detailed scientific drawings)
-Why are Audubon’s images different from his contemporaries’? (Drew many from life when possible, but made them look living if they had to be killed to be drawn accurately; strove to give his paintings action and realism)
- Where is the American flamingo today? (much rarer; Caribbean area, central America).
- What are the sketches at the top? (fills out the page, shows detailed views of different parts of the bird)
- How is this print of a flamingo different from the plastic flamingos that people stick in their yards? Are they different? Are they both art?
- Thanks to Audubon, we have detailed images of birds that are now extinct, such as: the Carolina parrot, passenger pigeon, great auk, and Labrador duck.
- How did they make scientific drawings? (no cameras; either drew animals in nature or, more likely, drew dead animals brought in for the specific purpose of making detailed scientific drawings)
-Why are Audubon’s images different from his contemporaries’? (Drew many from life when possible, but made them look living if they had to be killed to be drawn accurately; strove to give his paintings action and realism)
- Where is the American flamingo today? (much rarer; Caribbean area, central America).
- What are the sketches at the top? (fills out the page, shows detailed views of different parts of the bird)
- How is this print of a flamingo different from the plastic flamingos that people stick in their yards? Are they different? Are they both art?
- Thanks to Audubon, we have detailed images of birds that are now extinct, such as: the Carolina parrot, passenger pigeon, great auk, and Labrador duck.
*The entire folio collection, with his writings, may be found at: http://www.audubon.org/bird/boa/BOA_index.html
Audubon society – named for JJ Audubon because of his adventurous spirit and concern and passion for birds and other American wildlife, which he observed carefully and understood to be part of intricate systems in nature. The Audubon Society is a conservation effort that works to protect birds, wildlife and their habitats.
- With the invention of cameras, artists could work from photographs. What may have been some limitations of cameras? (many types of wildlife were extinct or much rarer at this point; for many years, cameras were cumbersome and subjects had to pose perfectly still for several minutes)
- Even after the invention of cameras, wildlife painting/drawing is still popular. Why might artists still be interested in drawing animals? (for personal interest, there is a market for realistic wildlife paintings/drawings still, for causes such as the Audubon society)
- With the invention of cameras, artists could work from photographs. What may have been some limitations of cameras? (many types of wildlife were extinct or much rarer at this point; for many years, cameras were cumbersome and subjects had to pose perfectly still for several minutes)
- Even after the invention of cameras, wildlife painting/drawing is still popular. Why might artists still be interested in drawing animals? (for personal interest, there is a market for realistic wildlife paintings/drawings still, for causes such as the Audubon society)
Also -- artists began to shift priorities: artists in the past century or so were freer to concentrate on capturing the “spirit”, movement, impression, or personality of the animal- such things aren’t possible with cameras- not in the same way. Until the late 1800s, the dominant "acceptable" style for painting, drawing and sculpting was realism. Beginning with the Impressionists in France (Monet, Renoir, Manet, Cezanne, etc.), new ways of "seeing" and interpreting the world were being explored. The Impressionists tried to capture the essence of a very brief moment in time (the "impression"). From there, cubism, art deco, abstract expressionism, surrealism, and many other art movements were born.
One artist who is credited with developing a popular and interesting style of art is...
Charley Harper (1922-2007), Cincinnati, OH
“In school I began to paint hyper-realistically – highlights on hairs.... [Eventually] I began to feel that this method of dealing with form revealed nothing new about the subject, never challenged the viewer to expand his awareness…” So he began recording what he felt to be the “essence” of a scene/animal/etc. He called it minimal realism: “Wildlife art without the fuss and feathers. I don’t try to put everything in – I try to leave everything out. I think flat, simple, hard-edge and f
unny." 
“In school I began to paint hyper-realistically – highlights on hairs.... [Eventually] I began to feel that this method of dealing with form revealed nothing new about the subject, never challenged the viewer to expand his awareness…” So he began recording what he felt to be the “essence” of a scene/animal/etc. He called it minimal realism: “Wildlife art without the fuss and feathers. I don’t try to put everything in – I try to leave everything out. I think flat, simple, hard-edge and f
unny." 
HOMEWORK: essay: compare/contrast a painting by Audubon with a painting of the same bird by Harper. Include these four paragraphs in the main body of the essay: Describe Audubon's painting; describe Harper's painting. Pay attention to what each artist includes in his piece- plants, other animals, nests, bugs, etc. Pay attention to what Harper includes/leaves out in his stylized images of the birds. Then talk about how they are different and how they are similar. Have fun! Due November 4. (You can do extra credit and write another, due November 11)
Audubon's Birds of America
Go here to see some of Charley Harper's birds
Jaden - Wood Ibis
Jenna - Burrowing Owl
John - Purple Gallinule
Josh - Swallow-tailed Kite
Michael - (Common) Puffin
Paige - Passenger Pigeon
Shannon - Trumpeter Swan
Stephanie - Whooping Crane
The images of Harper's art in the link above come from this book: Birds and Words
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