Post on 20-Jan-2023
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it
~Henry David Thoreau
Futurology,2008,collage,16X20inches
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“Notallfastfoodchickendiesinvain.ThebonesofsomehundredsfallintothehandsofChristyRuppwhofashionsthemintoexquisiteskeletonsoftheirextinctorendangeredkin,basedonmodels,themselvesworksoftheimagination,remadebypaleontologists.Herwittycollagesalsoprovokeme,anunregeneratecarnivore,tonevereat
birdsthathavenotliveddecentlives.”
~ Bell Chevigny, author, poet and activist
above: Carolina Parakeet,2008,chickenbones,6x6x8inchesbelow: Carolina Parakeets,1827,JohnJ.Audubon,aquatintLastseeninthewildin1913
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“Couldyouwriteaboutmynewwork?”Shesaid.“I’mre-creatingtheskeletonsofextinctbirdsoutofindustriallyproducedpoultrybonesfromthesupermarket&fastfoodrestaurants.”
“Soundsthought-provoking,”Ireplied.
“Peopledon’tunderstandextinction,”shecontinued.“Justbecauseaspeciesdisap-peared,doesn’tmeanitwasn’tsuccessful.Infact,someonesaid,‘Extinctionisthepurposeofevolution.’Ithinkitwas...”
Thenhercellphonedied.
Theartistisright,Idecided.Theextinc-tionofaspeciesislikethedeathofanindividual.ThefactthatShakespearedieddidn’tmeanhefailed,forexample.
IwonderwhatShakespearesaidaboutextinction?
Christy’s sculpture is an act of devotion, retrofitting vanished creatures.Someday,oursuccessorsonearth—perhapslarge,super-intelligentcockroaches—willcarefullyassemblehumanbonestostudyourdoomedspecies.
Skeletonsaremostlyair.
Skeletonsarecages.(Theword“ribcage”makesthispoint.)Insome(rare)cases,youmaylockacriminalinsidethebonesofamastodon.
Onceanimalsbecomeextinct,theyentertherealmofart.Artistsmustdrawextinctbeastsbecausescientistscannot.Whenonlybonesremain,paintersandsculptorsmuststepin.
Extinctcreaturesareabsurdtous.Thehadrosaurid[aduck-billeddinosaurwithliterallythousandsofteeth]orthedodocauseustogiggle—asifthesillinessofthesecreatureskilledthem.Andyetthedeep-sealuminescentsquidseemsreason-abletous,becauseitsurvivesintoourowntime.
IsharewithChristytheurgetomakebeautyfromgarbage.
~ Sparrow, author, poet, presidential candidate
Comments from sparrow
County Shopper ad,Thanksgiving2006
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Back in the 1600’s, everybody ate Dodos for thanksgiving. They
thought that they would never go extinct. The same thing is
happening today. Could that be what the sculpture is trying to
tell us?
Gus Yafkak, age 12 .
Two Moas, Auk and
Dodo,2008,chicken
bones&mixedmedia,
114x84x96inches
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I learned that birds can be big and look like other animals. I
learned some birds do not exist anymore. These sculptures re-
mind me of dinosaurs but she did not dig up bird bones. She
got the bones from the garbage and made art out of it.
Cole Kattan, age 6,
Moa skeletons, Canterbury, New Zealand. 1867
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thursday, january, 16th 2008it’s about diversity
Arechickenslessofapresencethanabirdgoneforeverexceptinamuseum?Howisitthatwehavecometoacceptlivinginatimeofgreatextinction?Howcanwenoticeenvironmentaldestructionwithoutexaminingitscauses?Thisworkpondersthefutilityofprovinganegative.Asthoughcleversolutionstotreat symptoms can fix structural problems.
Duetotherealitythatyoucan’tprovesomethingisgone,merely because you can’t find it, the sculpture here scrutinizes theideathatcharismaticspeciesliketheDodoaremoresignificant than innumerable mass-produced birds, grown so rapidlywithhormonesandantibiotics.
bad luck or bad genes?
Manyspeciesarewelladapted,butiftheirhabitatchangesradicallytheyareunsuitedforchange.Historically,manyanimalsliketheDodoperishedwhenman’sarrivalbroughthungrypeopleandpredators.
Similarly,whentheEuropeansarrivedintheAmericas,hundredsofmillionsofnativeAmericansdiedbecausetheytoo, weren’t able to adapt to the diseases and destabilization broughtbytheEuropeans.
Migratoryspeciesdependondifferenttypesofhabitatsovertheseasons.Iftheyhappentonestinanareathathasrecently
experiencedanoilspill,theirjourneywillendthereregardlessofthehealthoftheirotherdestinations.Migrationistheresultofevolution,relianceonasetofinstinctsbeingultimatelyanactoffaith.
Climatechangeandeconomicpres-surescomplicatedispersalformanycreaturesduetotheavailabilityoffoodthatcanbealteredbyminutetempera-tureshifts.
Additionally,collectorseagertopossessthelastspecimenofavanishingformhavehuntedcountlessspeciesintoextinction.
extinct birds previously consumed by Humans by christy rupp
Ivory Billed Woodpecker, chicken bones & mixed media 18 x 17 x 6 inches
Ivory Billed Woodpecker specimens in drawer at the museum
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Speciesaregenerallynotproclaimedextinctuntil50yearsafterthelastreliablesighting.Mightweascertainthatmanyotherspeciesareprobablylostbutnotyetnoticed?Intheoceanstoday,factoryshipsvacuumthewaterforspeciesyetundiscovered.
health of the planet/people
It is mind boggling that industrialized food companies can produceachickenfromeggtomeatin6weeks.Ittakessecondsforalivingbirdtobetransformedintoaplasticshroudedproductreadytocook.Equallyunbelievableishowcheapmeatistoproduce,duetosubsidiesandthevolumeofanimalsprocessed.
To make a profit, companies receive a lot of outside help fromthegovernment,incheapenergy,pesticides,hormones,fertilizer, refrigerated containers and a pool of marginalized workers.IndustrialagriculturecontributestoGlobalWarmingby consuming tons of petrochemical fuel, fertilizer, and creatingvastquantitiesofwastepollution.
When there looms a health scare like avian flu, mass quantitiesofotherwisehealthybirdscanbeexterminatedinaveryshorttime,withlittlethoughttoanythingbutprovidingacleanproductrecall.
“Brinkiness”,2008,collage,16X20inches
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avian flu scare
Ideasaboutthisworkwerehatchedpursuanttoaninterestinthehypesurroundingavian flu. Remember about 3 years ago they worried about an unstoppable pandemic thatwouldsweepacrosstheglobefromAsia?Thedreaded“BirdFlu”hysteriaisascamtoscareusintosubmission.Countlessmillionsofdomesticducksandchickenshavebeenliquidatedgloballyinanattempttostopthespreadofthevirus.Billionsofdollarsarebeingallocatedtothedevelopmentofanew“pandemic”vaccineandthestockpilingofdrugs,whicharetoutedto“treat”theinfection.MandatoryvaccinationandmilitaryenforcedquarantineawaitusaspartofnewPatriotActmandates.
Whatforcesarereallyatwork?Coulditbethatdrugcompanies’patentswillbeouronlychanceatsurvival?OrmaybeVirusH5N1isaproprietarywaronterror,designedtoincreasemarketshare.Thebeliefthattheviruscanbeeasilypassedbetweenhumansremainsunsubstantiated.
Somuchofwhatweseeinthemediashowsanimalsinthecontextofcrueltyandsacrifice. An untarnished brand is the goal, while images of the slaughter of millions ofanimals,inthesearchforoffendingmicrobespermeateourexperience.
Dim View,2008,
collage,16X20inches
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Global Warming
Three-quartersofbiodiversityincropshasbeenlostinthelastcentury,accordingtothe United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. In Mexico, only 20 percent of thecorntypesthatexistedinthe1930’sexisttoday.IntheUnitedStates,95percentofcabbagevarietiesand94percentofpeatypesaregone.
Animalagricultureaccountsformostofthewastedresourcesconsumed,while,inthiscountry,wecontributetwo-thirdsoftheworld’sacid-rain-causingammonia,whichrepresentsthelargestsourceofwaterpollution-killingentireriverandmarineecosystems,destroyingcoralreefs,andofcourse,makingpeoplesick.TrytoimaginetheprodigiousvolumesofmanurechurnedoutbymodernAmericanfarms:5milliontonsaday,morethanahundredtimesthatofthehumanpopulation,andfarmorethanourlandcanpossiblyabsorb.Theacresandacresofcesspoolsstretchingovermuchofourcountryside,pollutingtheairandcontaminatingourwater, make the Exxon Valdez oil spill look minor in comparison. All of which we can fix surprisingly easily, just by realigning our appetites for more green stuff and lessmeat.
Zero balance frog,2007,creditcardsandweldedsteel,10x9X5inches
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human attitudes toward wildlife
Thisworkislessaboutendangeredspecies,andmoreconcernedwithhowwetreatanimalsthatalreadyexist.Dohumansnoticemuchaboutotherspecies—orisitourownimagewe’relookingforwhenweviewanimalsonTVandinmovies?
WecreatecharismaticstarslikeSmokey,Flipper andPale Male, defining them through our experience. Yet infinite quantities of mass produced meat animals are consideredlessnotablebecausetheyarecheaptoproduceandshortlived.
fast food as a commodity
Mass-producedinthespeediest,cheapestandunhealthyofconditions,fastfoodpoultryisunhealthyandengineeredtogrowrapidlyanddieyoung.Theirbonesareveryweak,theirfeetcan’tsupporttheweightgain-whensanctuariesrescuetheseanimals,theymustbandagetheirfeettoenablethemtosupporttheirownbodies.Weeatthem,ingestingalsotheirantibiotics,hormonesandpesticides.Thechickenisproducedtomakeitfatterandcheaper.
As globalization “flattens” the world, more commerce replicating western food choicesisbecomingcommon,inturnpromotingamodelofhyperconsumption.
No Way Home,2008,collage,16X20inches
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Althoughobservedfromactualbirdprototypes,theworksembodyabsurdity,asthey
are a creation of human hands. They reflect the preposterous notion that humans
canputthingsbacktogether,implyingthatmerelybygoodintentionsnaturecould
be retrofitted for the better and placate our guilt.
Great Auk,2007,
bones&mixedmedia,
28x30x17inches
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Naturedoesnotseeindividualanimals—onlycoloniesofbreedingpopulations.Yetourexperi-enceofextinctionisoneofcharismaticicons,likeMartha,thelastpassengerpigeon,wholivedcagedandalonefor18yearsintheCincinnatiZoo.
Thevalueofresourcesunharvestedishardtomeasure;weprefertoequatethelifeofanendan-geredspottedowlwiththelossof40,000jobs.Bywhatcriteriadoesonehavevalueandnottheother?
Dodo,nd.,etching,16X20inches
Photo of Martha alone in captivity.