Pigeons

I can hand-deliver this anywhere in NYC after April 30th when the show closes. If you need shipping, please send an email to mari@bymariandrew.com after purchasing :)

SAINTS OF THE SIDEWALK: Pigeons

For this piece I used a technique called ‘felted wool painting.’ It is a laborious process, and each one takes upwards of 20 hours to complete. I source my wool from a small family farm in North Dakota which is committed to providing their beloved sheep with a natural and joyful life.

Inspiration:

Pigeons are a tragic tale: They were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago. We took them into our homes—the wealthiest homes, at that—in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Then…we sort of forgot why we did it in the first place. We used to use pigeons to carry messages (really, they have always been phenomenal navigators), or at least use their poop for excellent fertilizer. We bred them specifically so they would hang around us. 

Now we get annoyed that they still do. They are the fax machines, the heavy black-and-white TVs, the CD-ROM drives of animals. Once essential, they now take up space in our homes. If they would just leave our parks and moldings, we could modernize in peace. The problem is, pigeons were bred to be good at living near us. And then we forgot about that, and we’re wondering why they’re hanging around.

As someone who feels more comfortable on the edges than in the center, my heart goes out to this man and his bird community, who have both been pushed farther and farther from the center to the point where many of us might literally not even see them. While the richest of the rich used to keep pigeons in cages as a sign of wealth (they were rare, and exclusive), now we associate this colorful dove with the poor. 

In Mary Poppins, it’s a weird old woman who chooses to feed the birds, tuppence a bag. All the businessmen scurry past her to avoid being asked for spare change; it’s only the children who stop and feel moved to buy seed to give these city pests. 

In various parks around New York City, it’s someone who the rest of us may think of as ‘not mentally there’ enough to hold a job. It’s no surprise that they find companionship with an intelligent, compassionate, physically beautiful species who has been cast aside as useless and a pest.

Meditation:

Reflect on what you consider “useful” or not; then think about how you treat either. What in nature is useful, or not? Which animals are useful, or not? Which people are useful, or not? If we look at radical prophets like Jesus, they were constantly questioning our perspective on what mattered and what didn’t. What if, today, the once-useful pigeon actually mattered? How would you treat it?