Kathleen Bitetti
Artist Statement
Birds
These plaster birds were cast from two ceramic birds my mother had in our family home. Interestingly, the two original ceramic birds are exactly the same in every detail, except that one was painted blue indicating a Blue Jay, while the other was painted red indicating a cardinal. I chose to keep my birds white. These birds, in my mindscape, symbolize safety, good luck and purity. All the birds in the museum have been cast specifically for this show and I have placed them all in their specific sites within the museum.
I first made these white plaster birds to be elements in a 1996 site specific installation entitled,
Lullaby/Rock A Bye Baby. The installation examined the duality of the lullaby: it is an extremely violent song that is considered a cherished "lullaby" that one sings to soothe children to sleep.
Ironically, while working on these birds for this show, I found out that many people believe that
having any birds in their house, living or in any depiction, is a harbinger/cause of bad luck. Thus
these birds, like the majority of my work, have conflicting meanings.
I think that what makes this statement successful is that she addresses the meaning behind the piece, and where that inspiration came from. It is personal, and it connects the viewer to her. I also think it is effective in that I really wanted to know more about her work, from reading this statement. I was not able to find images of these birds, but I did find some of her other work. And she uses them in many of her installation pieces. I plan to learn more about her, and her projects - she is an activist as well - and do a journal entry on her. I think that if you can inspire someone with just the artist statement, to take a journey into your world, then it is an artwork in itself.
Artist Statement
Birds
These plaster birds were cast from two ceramic birds my mother had in our family home. Interestingly, the two original ceramic birds are exactly the same in every detail, except that one was painted blue indicating a Blue Jay, while the other was painted red indicating a cardinal. I chose to keep my birds white. These birds, in my mindscape, symbolize safety, good luck and purity. All the birds in the museum have been cast specifically for this show and I have placed them all in their specific sites within the museum.
I first made these white plaster birds to be elements in a 1996 site specific installation entitled,
Lullaby/Rock A Bye Baby. The installation examined the duality of the lullaby: it is an extremely violent song that is considered a cherished "lullaby" that one sings to soothe children to sleep.
Ironically, while working on these birds for this show, I found out that many people believe that
having any birds in their house, living or in any depiction, is a harbinger/cause of bad luck. Thus
these birds, like the majority of my work, have conflicting meanings.
I think that what makes this statement successful is that she addresses the meaning behind the piece, and where that inspiration came from. It is personal, and it connects the viewer to her. I also think it is effective in that I really wanted to know more about her work, from reading this statement. I was not able to find images of these birds, but I did find some of her other work. And she uses them in many of her installation pieces. I plan to learn more about her, and her projects - she is an activist as well - and do a journal entry on her. I think that if you can inspire someone with just the artist statement, to take a journey into your world, then it is an artwork in itself.