evolution - Christy Rupp

evolution is it for everybody?

extinct birds previously consumed by humans

christy rupp

�

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it

~Henry David Thoreau

Futurology,2008,collage,16X20inches

�

“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

�

“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

�

People handing over their turkey and chicken bones.

�

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

�

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

�

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

�

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

10

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

11

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

12

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

13

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

14

Naturedoesnotseeindividualanimals—onlycoloniesofbreedingpopulations.Yetourexperi-enceofextinctionisoneofcharismaticicons,likeMartha,thelastpassengerpigeon,wholivedcagedandalonefor18yearsintheCincinnatiZoo.

Thevalueofresourcesunharvestedishardtomeasure;weprefertoequatethelifeofanendan-geredspottedowlwiththelossof40,000jobs.Bywhatcriteriadoesonehavevalueandnottheother?

Dodo,nd.,etching,16X20inches

Photo of Martha alone in captivity.

evolution - Christy Rupp

Documents

Transcript of evolution - Christy Rupp