Has Portlandia Ruined Birds?

Forums: Birds, Portlandia, Art, Crafts, Decorative Arts
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Type: Discussion • Score: 9 • Views: 6,581 • Replies: 44

[+5] - Roberta - 01/13/2012I love birds. I'm completely oblivious to whether they're in or out. Popular or not popular. Don't give a flying feather about trends. I wrote a poem about birds. I posted it elsewhere on this...
[+3] - Thomas - 01/12/2012That [i]is[/i] artsy. Now I have a confession to make. It's kind of embarrassing, so without further ado, here's the background image of my current Fedora Linux desktop:...

@sozobe,

ummm, sure??

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@Ceili,

Sorry, I know this is kind of obscure.

I like birds as decorative elements and I have for a long time.

I recently said this (the title) in a conversation about something I wanted to make that has a bird as a decorative element.

They've become cliche.

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@sozobe,

I can't watch the video. It's not available in Canada. Is this a tv show?

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@Ceili,

Yep.

It's a satirical slash affectionate show about Portland hipsters.

This particular video/ skit is about how birds are beloved of hipsters. Put a bird on anything = artsy hipsters love it.

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@sozobe,

Ok, get it now. I've always wanted an impressive rooster in the kitchen, however, mine is just too small to add flotsam. I didn't know it was a hipster thang, as I have aunts who collect bird stuff too. They are definitely not hip. lol

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My grandmother loved the little birdies . . . she used to collect small glass or crystal birds--but only the ones which were true to life.

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

Put a bird on anything = artsy hipsters love it.

That's satire? Sounds like a reality show to me. The impact of birds on art farts is such a cliche it's not even funny. I take it you see yourself as artsy-fartsy?

1 Reply

@Thomas,

Thomas wrote:

. I take it you see yourself as artsy-fartsy?

Put it this way -- here's a photo I took about midway through the holiday gift-making season:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d130/sozobe/IMG-20111213-00557.jpg

(Sewed the birdie in the middle, then the decoupaged votive on the far left has birdies from a circa 1940's coloring book I found somewhere a long time ago -- hand-poured organic soy-based whatever candles into the decoupaged votives before giving.)

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@sozobe,

U-oh. Guil-ty!

(I can't be too gleeful at my current location. My mother selected the bushes in her garden according to the birds she wanted to attract into it. Live birds, that is.)

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@sozobe,

I think bird artwork has been in vogue ever since Audubon started drawing them.

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@Thomas,

Thomas wrote:

U-oh. Guil-ty!

Very.

And here's the iPod case I just made (same fabric as the birdie above). (Oh and I got the fabric at the tiny local independent fabric store.)

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d130/sozobe/birdieipod.jpg

It has fleece on the inside. The iPod stays in it even when tipped upside-down, it's cool.

Sigh, so guilty.

DrewDad, you're very right. There are trends within that though -- birds hovering in the background or very much front and center. And they've been super-ubiquitous in the past -- 5 years? (Twitter has a part in it.)

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@DrewDad,

I suspect you are right about that. Audubon's work was a radical departure from the previous work of ornithologists. This is from the Wikipedia biography:

Quote:

Audubon's influence on ornithology and natural history was far reaching. Nearly all later ornithological works were inspired by his artistry and high standards. Charles Darwin quoted Audubon three times in On the Origin of Species and also in later works. Despite some errors in field observations, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of bird anatomy and behavior through his field notes. Birds of America is still considered one of the greatest examples of book art. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies. (emphasis added)

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@sozobe,

That is artsy.

Now I have a confession to make. It's kind of embarrassing, so without further ado, here's the background image of my current Fedora Linux desktop:

http://regmedia.co.uk/2011/05/24/f15_gnomedefaultdesktop.jpg

1 Reply

@sozobe,

I bet Portlandia ruins birds only if enough hipsters watch the show and then refuse to use birds ironically.

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@Setanta,

Great artwork, alright. Boy was pretty good at posing and harvesting his subjects too - with a shotgun.

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@sozobe,

You appear to be very boidy woman.

Has SOZOBE ruined birds?

I'd just fuhgeddaboudit and do what you want to....doubtless they'll be out of fashion soon and you'll be producing high kitsch for a bit, then be ahead of the next bird craze....the avant garde....and then part of the bird craze, then kitsch....well, repeat as needed.

Enjoy your boids already.

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@Thomas,

Heh heh....you're off with da boids too.

I don't think I've bought a boidy thing since the Du(umlaut)rer owl print I bought as my very first art purchase.

Just gave it away a year ago as it didn't have a place in my decor.

Oh....WTF is Portlandia?

1 Reply

@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

Oh....WTF is Portlandia?

A TV series that lovingly makes fun of the fine citizens of Portland, Oregon. You would like it. Try YouTubing it to get a flavor.

1 Reply

@Thomas,

Will I get the satire? I don't know Portland from Mars.

1 Reply

Has Portlandia Ruined Birds?

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