Pigeon plates

New work from Brooklyn Rehab - but not on her etsy quite yet. As many of my regular readers remember - I'm a big pigeon enthusiast and did a art show on the often misunderstood bird a couple of years ago. You can browse more pigeon related posts of mine here.

Score + Update

I just scored four pigeon racing trophies at an estate sale today. And here's a photo of our new dining room and how we're hanging some of the artwork in that room:

Nathan Abels, Chris Faller, "Grisaille" (Grayscale)

My statement about the show:

In 1903, German Engineer Julius Neubronner combined a small analog camera with a timer and attached it with a harness to a pigeon. This innovative approach to aerial photography soon raised interest from the German military. Sortly thereafter, exploring the potential for secret aerial reconissance carried out by pigeons began in earnest.

As an aerial survey photographer myself, I drew inspiration for this body of work from reading about these pigeons, who unwittingly served as soldiers, message carriers, and pioneers in the field of aerial photography. These pint-sized photographers were among the first to take aerial photos in teh early 20th Century.

“Racing Pigeons” (Four of Seven Canvases), 12x12” , Enamel on Canvas

“Neubronner’s Photographers, 1904”, 14x11”, Charcoal on Paper

“Vanishing Bearings of Pigeons Released at Various Locations”, 30x22”, Colored Pencil, Graphite, Acrylic on Paper

“Pigeon Aerial Photograph”, 18x24”, Charcoal on Paper

“Pigeon-Mounted Camera”, Dimensions Variable
Plastic, Hardware, Leather, Ink, Acrylic, and Mixed Mediums

(Untitled Photograph) and

“City Plan”, 6x9”, Acrylic, Graphite, Casein and Wax on Panel

“Neubronner’s Photographers, 1904”, 11x10”, Charcoal on Paper
Curiosities Cabinet - Including Pigeon Racing Clock, Photo Developing Unit, Photographs, etc.

“Untitled” Pigeon Photographer Accidental Image: The Park, 14x11”, Carcoal and Ink on Paper

“Untitled” Pigeon Photographer Accidental Image: Parking Lot
6x4” each x 36 (installed as one piece), Photography

“Flight Paths of Eight Homing Pigeons: Fig. B”, 14x11”, Gouche, Ink, Wax on Paper

“Flight Paths of Eight Homing Pigeons: Fig. A”, 14x11”, Gouche, Ink, Wax on Paper

“Pigeon Racing: Release”, 24”x80”, Acrylic on Panel

“Flight”, 22x30”, Colored Pencil, Graphite, and Ink on Paper

Installation View (Left-Hand Wall Upon Entering)

Installation View (Back Wall)

Installation View (Right-Hand Wall Upon Entering - looking from the back)

OPENING TONIGHT AT NOW ARSPACE

3977 Tennyson St. Denver, CO 80212

from 6-10 pm with Dj Tony Z

New Work - Pigeon Camera

Based on the above historical photo of carrier pigeons mounted with cameas (especially the one on the right side) from 1904, I made a replica of a miniature camera and mount for a pigeon aerial photographer:

Nathan Abels, "Pigeon Mounted Camera", Plastic, Hardware, Leather, Ink, Acrylic, and Mixed Mediums, 2008

Nathan Abels, "Pigeon Aerial Photographer", Digital Photograph, 2008

And check out this cool video:

Carrier Pigeon Photography and Passenger Pigeon Art

I recently got a portfolio of Audubon prints at an estate sale and in the set of 50 plates, there was a print of the extinct Passenger Pigeons (shown above). I've been really interested in these birds lately, and after remembering Walton Ford's piece "Falling Bough" and all the research that went into it (which can be seen on the season 2 DVD of Art:21) I can safely say that I have been inspired by these birds.

Walton Ford, “Falling Bough”, 2002
Watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 60 3/4 x 119 1/2"
Courtesy Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York

I am also especially interested in how carrier pigeons (not passenger pigeons) were used for reconnaissance in World War I - they were fitted with small cameras and were among the first photographers to take aerial photos in the early 20th Century. As many of you reading know, I do aerial survey photography myself so these pint-sized pioneers in the field of aerial photography are especially fascinating.

I love how proud and dignified these camera-mounted pigeons look.

(notice the wing in the corners of the upper photo on this article)

Via PigeonBlog, "In 1903, German Engineer Julius Neubronner combined a small analogue camera with a mechanical timer and attached it around a pigeon's neck. This innovative approach to aerial photography soon raised interest from the German military. Shortly thereafter, exploring the potential for secret aerial photography carried out by pigeons began in earnest. "

The idea of mounting pigeons with cameras has not been lost. Portland based artist/lecturer Amos Latteier recently mounted some pigeons with a digital camera. The slideshow (pdf file) from his "Report on Pigeon Aerial Photography" includes a brief history and examples of his experiments with contemporary pigeon aerial photography. Here is one of the photos he salvaged from a damaged pigeon camera:


In other contemporary technology-based pigeon news - the pigeon blog "provides an alternative way to participate environmental air pollution data gathering. The project equips urban homing pigeons with GPS enabled electronic air pollution sensing devices capable of sending real-time location based air pollution and image data to an online mapping/blogging environment. Pigeonblog is a social public experiment between human and non-human animals." Check it out.