About this project
Red Lahore believed that we would one day come to need pigeons for the same reason for which they were originally domesticated; food, companionship, messengers and entertainment. In order to make sure this would be possible, he enshrined decades worth of knowledge about pigeons in a Portable On Demand Storage unit that could also be used to breed actual pigeons. Incorporating paintings, sculpture and digital design, the pigeon PODS is meant to change your preconceived notions about pigeons. I want to build and restore this body of work as a travelling art installation. This piece is one of five selected to be exhibited at SparkCon in Raleigh in September. I proposed that this installation be kept together and transported to Philadelphia in December where it will be on display as part of my MFA thesis show. The piece is called "The Pigeon PODS of Red Lahore", a real work of art by a mysterious man who could have been me in another life. It is a commentary on how we view animals in general and pigeons in particular.
The show in Raleigh is happening as well as the show in Philadelphia, all that remains is to make sure the PODS is there. The cost to move the unit from Raleigh to my house, from my house to Philadelphia and back again will be around $1600. The cost of materials for the installation, including an internal structure so that I do not have to drill into the side of the PODS (which is frowned upon by the PODS corporation), will take up the rest of the $2000. Any additional money raised beyond this goal will help me keep the PODS intact to submit to future shows.
To see other pigeon related art go to www.mattzigler.com. For more details on the Pigeon PODS go to www.mattzigler.com/personal-pigeon-pods.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on September 17, 2010.
Pledge $10 or more
A 5 x 7 postcard of one of four fancy pigeon paintings from Red Lahore's breed chart, as well as a signed invitation to the show in Philadelphia.
Pledge $25 or more
A set of 4 5 x 7 postcards of fancy pigeon paintings from Red Lahore's breed chart, as well as a signed invitation to the show in Philadelphia.
Pledge $50 or more
An 11 x 17 print of one of Red Lahore's pigeon propaganda posters, plus a signed invitation to the show in Philadelphia.
Pledge $150 or more
A complete set of 4 11 x 17 pigeon propaganda posters from Red Lahore, plus a signed invitation of the show in Philadelphia.
Pledge $400 or more
Own a piece of history. When the show is complete you can choose one of the 18 pigeon breed paintings included in the Pigeon POD. This item is first come, first served! Paintings are oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches.
Project By
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The natural world is full of little dramas, narratives and moments of profound value. Sometimes we notice them, often we don't. What happens when you learn a new word or see a new face, and from that point on you keep seeing it everywhere? It seems like it had never existed before, but you know that it was there all along and you have simply made a place for it in your mind.
This happened to me on the streets of Philadelphia. I knew there were pigeons everywhere, they simply did not stick in my brain. I walked past them and they were gone. And then I saw a beige pigeon amidst all the grey and black ones. Why that particular bird flipped a switch in my mind I have no idea. Why does anything attract our interest and hold on for great lengths of time? After that day I learned more about pigeons, and I have watched them pecking, flapping, preening and courting beneath the feet and above the heads of Philadelphians who are unaware of the lives being lived around them.
How have we become so desensitized to the natural world? How have we come to compartmentalize the environment into organisms worth paying attention to and organisms beneath our contempt? Through my paintings and installations I provide "beige pigeon moments" for my viewers. By making art about these moments, I create an opportunity to see a larger world where the connections between ourselves, other organisms, and the spaces we inhabit might just stick in our brains, so that we can start to see them everywhere.
