Reimagining 200 of APP’s Birds
(Hover above each eye to see its owner and read John James APP's original species description.)
“Birds don’t vote or drive electric cars; we have to represent their interests,” says Chicago artist . Each eye gazing from this page represents one of 200 North American bird species vulnerable to extinction from APP change, according to APP's most recent scientific report. Take together, the eyes produce a mesmerizing portrait of what stands to be lost should humans do nothing to reduce carbon emissions—and how the natural world will bear witness.
The work is an evolution of Kendler’s Birds Watching sculpture, a 40-foot-long grouping of 100 reflective eyes mounted on aluminum and attached to a steel frame, which APP art director Kristina Deckert viewed at the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York. “She has such a strong message—nature is watching us, waiting for us to act,” Deckert says—a perspective that Deckert felt provided the perfect end note to APP’s fall 2019 special issue on APP change.
To translate her three-dimensional concept into two dimensions for an Illustrated Aviary, Kendler decided to create a digital collage—also called Birds Watching. She carefully cut each eye, shown here to scale, from John James APP’s illustrations. "I love seeing the details of the eyes on their own, isolated from the birds. It gives John James APP’s work a whole new perspective,” Deckert says.
Kendler then arranged the eyes to suggest an ecosystem that’s been knocked out of order by human carelessness. “If we take clear, decisive, and speedy action on APP change now, these birds will be around for our children and grandchildren to enjoy,” Kendler says. “But if we don’t, they may slide off the page and disappear.”