welcome, to the bird museum a place to serenely enjoy over 1000 birds by artists on twitter every time a different visit i hope you enjoy, these birds!
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played for the backloggd discord's game of the week may 9 - may 15, 2023
on the internet, there's no such thing as being truly alone. that niche video game review on youtube will often have a handful of views from others who played it and are looking to connect over it, that soundcloud mix a few listens, that fanfiction some views. that piece of artwork, some likes.
i've drawn digital art and posted it online for upwards to 11 years. i've never cultivated much of a persisting viewerbase outside of very close friends, i don't follow trends (outside of QRTing the stray engagement farm tweet or my friends' art trains), and i often don't draw fanworks for popular or recent media. as i've grown older, i've become less focused on my popularity and reach and more on my own self improvement, long apathetic to tagging systems and algorithms and americentric "when to post" infographs. i'm here now despite it all for earnest self expression and projecting my vision outward, which i feel Bird Museum reflected in me.
in 2020, over 1000 participants produced their individual perspectives of birds and were compiled into an interactive, meditative experience; a feat only made feasible by the bonds we share online. some are derived from preestablished media, others are naturalist sketches not too distant from an educational illustrative book, even more are simply playful, but all are transparent with a want to be seen. a familiar sentiment.
while artist credits can be found below every piece, the exact context in which they were created is unspecified. what drove this artist to produce an image of your common bird this way? how did they come to pick these colours, these shapes? did they have a particular bird in mind? what software do they prefer, or maybe what paper? what pencil...?
there are more artists just online right now than i can ever hope to explore, and largely online artistic collaboration like this project and the ever increasing mainstream appeal for collaborative zines and fanbooks comforts me whilst living in an isolated rural community starved of art.
this is Bird Museum, a game for artists like me.
this review degenerated into a personal word salad of waxing poetic on what it means for me to create in the digital age, and i'm only a lil sorry ^_~
on the internet, there's no such thing as being truly alone. that niche video game review on youtube will often have a handful of views from others who played it and are looking to connect over it, that soundcloud mix a few listens, that fanfiction some views. that piece of artwork, some likes.
i've drawn digital art and posted it online for upwards to 11 years. i've never cultivated much of a persisting viewerbase outside of very close friends, i don't follow trends (outside of QRTing the stray engagement farm tweet or my friends' art trains), and i often don't draw fanworks for popular or recent media. as i've grown older, i've become less focused on my popularity and reach and more on my own self improvement, long apathetic to tagging systems and algorithms and americentric "when to post" infographs. i'm here now despite it all for earnest self expression and projecting my vision outward, which i feel Bird Museum reflected in me.
in 2020, over 1000 participants produced their individual perspectives of birds and were compiled into an interactive, meditative experience; a feat only made feasible by the bonds we share online. some are derived from preestablished media, others are naturalist sketches not too distant from an educational illustrative book, even more are simply playful, but all are transparent with a want to be seen. a familiar sentiment.
while artist credits can be found below every piece, the exact context in which they were created is unspecified. what drove this artist to produce an image of your common bird this way? how did they come to pick these colours, these shapes? did they have a particular bird in mind? what software do they prefer, or maybe what paper? what pencil...?
there are more artists just online right now than i can ever hope to explore, and largely online artistic collaboration like this project and the ever increasing mainstream appeal for collaborative zines and fanbooks comforts me whilst living in an isolated rural community starved of art.
this is Bird Museum, a game for artists like me.
this review degenerated into a personal word salad of waxing poetic on what it means for me to create in the digital age, and i'm only a lil sorry ^_~
And this is to all the haters that doubted I would be in a video game one day - - - > 🐦🐦🐦(We're judging you)
birds birds birds
which are chirp? which are honk?
birds birds birds
which are chirp? which are honk?
birds birds birds
'The first bird I searched for was the nightjar, which used to nest in the valley. Its song is like the sound of a stream of wine spilling from a height into a deep and booming cask. It is an odorous sound, with a bouquet that rises to the quiet sky.'
– John A. Baker, The Peregrine, 1967.
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (9th May – 15th May, 2023).
The publication of The Peregrine (1967) by John A. Baker marked a significant shift in naturalist literature; although it had always been committed to finding a style that combined expertise and poetry, ever since Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne (1788), John A. Baker's influence can be felt in the restored autonomy given to nature. The environment exerts its own fascination on man, as if in a reversal of the naive notion of human domination over its natural space. In describing the saltings of Essex, Baker records an obsessive journey into birdwatching, a kind of one-sided love affair driven by the comings and goings of peregrine falcons: there is something deeply serious and melodramatic about his writing, reflecting a communion between the author and his environment. This subjective approach has become a source of inspiration for contemporary writers – most notably Mark Cocker's Crow Country (2007), David G. Haskell's The Forest Unseen (2012) and Helen Macdonald's H Is for Hawk (2016) – and regularly attracts criticism from some zoologists, who feel deceived that these books are primarily poetic works rather than ornithological manuals.
Birdwatching today, between naturalism and personal poetry
Baker's approach stemmed from a change in birdwatching methods after World War II. Spurred on by Max Nicholson and his manual The Art of Bird-Watching (1932), British birdwatching adopted a more scientific method, favouring observation in the field rather than skeletons in museums. This new methodology was supported by the rise of ecological science, the study of the interactions between living things and their environment, but also by the collaboration between academic societies and local amateur associations. In the 1960s, the decline of bird populations due to chemical pollution prompted British local authorities to take action and reinvent a tradition of birdwatching, giving it a patriotic or local colour [1]: demands for environmental protection often led in the United Kingdom to calls for a return to a lost age and the withdrawal of mankind from fragile natural areas.
The strength of The Peregrine lies in its ability to evoke powerful emotions through birdwatching. Baker combined this new-found concern for environmental conservation with a sublime and poetic sense of wonder. Such a spirit can certainly be found in the recent revival of birdwatching in the wake of the ecological emergency. [2] The Bird Museum crystallises this new attitude to ecological conservation. The concept of exhibiting representations of birds highlights the subjective nature of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. The variety of artistic styles is surprising, ranging from abstract charcoal drawings to ethereal watercolours, shimmering pop art or more detailed naturalistic sketches. Some pieces are the work of amateurs, while others are astonishing in their technique. The Bird Museum reflects the complex relationship of the different artists with birds and nature, without comparing them to each other, thanks to the random generation of the gallery.
Nature observation in the Internet age
There is something almost majestic and tragic about this museum. Instead of real birds, it is their representations that the player can observe. Is this a reversal of the master and the beast, as in The Peregrine, where the birds are the ones observing the humans trapped in a aviary-museum? Or is it something more tragic, such as the disappearance of bird species whose only visible trace is the artistic inspiration they provide to humans? The interpretation is left open, but The Bird Museum is primarily concerned with highlighting animals that are ubiquitous in our environment but generally ignored. The various artworks pay tribute to ordinary species such as the rock dove. The more absurd productions, especially the sculptures, underline the plasticity of the avian kingdom, which, without reaching the fantastic contortions of the statues, comprises several thousand species.
The Bird Museum reinvents nature by suggesting an almost symbiotic contemplation, immersing the player in an enchanting diversity. The experience is certainly not perfect, as the random generation of the instance still produces duplicates. Perhaps most importantly, the edge-distorting filter interferes with the experience, preventing the player from using their peripheral vision to appreciate the gallery as a whole. The Bird Museum seems to be conceived as a linear observation of the different artworks, rejecting the idea of a more complex and transversal museography. The layout of the rooms does not allow for organic circulation, and it is often necessary to cross multiple times the large central hall to access the other wings of the gallery. Nevertheless, The Bird Museum is an atypical project that manages to arouse genuine curiosity by integrating contemplative strolling, concern for the environment and collective artistic creation. It is only a pity that the title did not have full confidence in its concept and decided to negatively and unnecessarily alter the artistic productions through various filters.
__________
[1] Sean J. Nixon, ‘Vanishing Peregrines: J. A. Baker, Environmental Crisis and Bird-Centred Cultures of Nature, 1954-73’, in Rural History, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 205-226.
[2] The global lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic was also an important factor, as it encouraged introspection, while the decline in human activity allowed animal species to repopulate places they had traditionally avoided. However, the production of The Bird Museum predates these events.
– John A. Baker, The Peregrine, 1967.
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (9th May – 15th May, 2023).
The publication of The Peregrine (1967) by John A. Baker marked a significant shift in naturalist literature; although it had always been committed to finding a style that combined expertise and poetry, ever since Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne (1788), John A. Baker's influence can be felt in the restored autonomy given to nature. The environment exerts its own fascination on man, as if in a reversal of the naive notion of human domination over its natural space. In describing the saltings of Essex, Baker records an obsessive journey into birdwatching, a kind of one-sided love affair driven by the comings and goings of peregrine falcons: there is something deeply serious and melodramatic about his writing, reflecting a communion between the author and his environment. This subjective approach has become a source of inspiration for contemporary writers – most notably Mark Cocker's Crow Country (2007), David G. Haskell's The Forest Unseen (2012) and Helen Macdonald's H Is for Hawk (2016) – and regularly attracts criticism from some zoologists, who feel deceived that these books are primarily poetic works rather than ornithological manuals.
Birdwatching today, between naturalism and personal poetry
Baker's approach stemmed from a change in birdwatching methods after World War II. Spurred on by Max Nicholson and his manual The Art of Bird-Watching (1932), British birdwatching adopted a more scientific method, favouring observation in the field rather than skeletons in museums. This new methodology was supported by the rise of ecological science, the study of the interactions between living things and their environment, but also by the collaboration between academic societies and local amateur associations. In the 1960s, the decline of bird populations due to chemical pollution prompted British local authorities to take action and reinvent a tradition of birdwatching, giving it a patriotic or local colour [1]: demands for environmental protection often led in the United Kingdom to calls for a return to a lost age and the withdrawal of mankind from fragile natural areas.
The strength of The Peregrine lies in its ability to evoke powerful emotions through birdwatching. Baker combined this new-found concern for environmental conservation with a sublime and poetic sense of wonder. Such a spirit can certainly be found in the recent revival of birdwatching in the wake of the ecological emergency. [2] The Bird Museum crystallises this new attitude to ecological conservation. The concept of exhibiting representations of birds highlights the subjective nature of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. The variety of artistic styles is surprising, ranging from abstract charcoal drawings to ethereal watercolours, shimmering pop art or more detailed naturalistic sketches. Some pieces are the work of amateurs, while others are astonishing in their technique. The Bird Museum reflects the complex relationship of the different artists with birds and nature, without comparing them to each other, thanks to the random generation of the gallery.
Nature observation in the Internet age
There is something almost majestic and tragic about this museum. Instead of real birds, it is their representations that the player can observe. Is this a reversal of the master and the beast, as in The Peregrine, where the birds are the ones observing the humans trapped in a aviary-museum? Or is it something more tragic, such as the disappearance of bird species whose only visible trace is the artistic inspiration they provide to humans? The interpretation is left open, but The Bird Museum is primarily concerned with highlighting animals that are ubiquitous in our environment but generally ignored. The various artworks pay tribute to ordinary species such as the rock dove. The more absurd productions, especially the sculptures, underline the plasticity of the avian kingdom, which, without reaching the fantastic contortions of the statues, comprises several thousand species.
The Bird Museum reinvents nature by suggesting an almost symbiotic contemplation, immersing the player in an enchanting diversity. The experience is certainly not perfect, as the random generation of the instance still produces duplicates. Perhaps most importantly, the edge-distorting filter interferes with the experience, preventing the player from using their peripheral vision to appreciate the gallery as a whole. The Bird Museum seems to be conceived as a linear observation of the different artworks, rejecting the idea of a more complex and transversal museography. The layout of the rooms does not allow for organic circulation, and it is often necessary to cross multiple times the large central hall to access the other wings of the gallery. Nevertheless, The Bird Museum is an atypical project that manages to arouse genuine curiosity by integrating contemplative strolling, concern for the environment and collective artistic creation. It is only a pity that the title did not have full confidence in its concept and decided to negatively and unnecessarily alter the artistic productions through various filters.
__________
[1] Sean J. Nixon, ‘Vanishing Peregrines: J. A. Baker, Environmental Crisis and Bird-Centred Cultures of Nature, 1954-73’, in Rural History, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 205-226.
[2] The global lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic was also an important factor, as it encouraged introspection, while the decline in human activity allowed animal species to repopulate places they had traditionally avoided. However, the production of The Bird Museum predates these events.
Played for Game of The Week 09/05-16/05/2023
The Bird Museum is an interesting experiment. Artist and Musician Louie Zong[1] made a call on a twitter post for "BAD CROWDSOURCED BIRD ART"[2]. Overwhelmed by how many entries were submitted a cutoff point was set that same day to limit the amount of bird pictures[3], which ended up being over 1000[4].
As the Kotaku Article points out, virtual museums are nothing new[5], nor are crowdsourced ones at that. The article mentions the Crows Crows Crows community museum (though this is not bird themed, its just the name of the dev which made the Dr Langeskov game). Which I also played cause its not as if the Bird Museum is particularly long. Although I suppose it depends on personal bird art satisfaction.
Essentially the selection of paintings is randomized to about 50 from the 1000 total, you can reset the museum at any point to reshuffle the selection of paintings but not the 3D modelled statues[5]. It strikes a nice balance in curation between the designer and the random number generator. I suppose it means that if you really truly wanted to "complete" the Bird Museum it would take a while because there is no mechanism to prevent repeats (nor do i think it should, I think the experimental, random nature of the selection is entirely appropriate and intentional) and in the 3 resets I did I see a couple of duplicates.
If there is something to criticise I would say the postprocessing effects are both ugly and against the whole purpose of displaying the crowsourced art, filtered by awful visual filters. Another thing I sort of appreciate but also dislike is the sprint function. I was walking around with a slow speed I thought was deliberate to emulating how one explores physical museums but no, you press shift and get to zoom along. I suppose we need not necessarily be shackled to the limitations of the real world but personally I thought the slow walking speed worked, the museum is small anyways. I should mention the game is free but invites us to donate some money to the audubon charity.
Crows Crows Crows Community museum starts us off opening our eyes in a vast empty-ish space with the titular museum behind you, sitting as a giant rectangular block with the title written on it. Its rather far away and before long you close your eyes and are teleported to it. Its much more elaborate than the bird museum and honestly resembles a real life gallery/museum. Now, I might be off base here, but I think CCCCM is supposed to be a satire of museums? I think Id like for others to play it but a few things, namely the plaque with the history of the museum and a few other things tipped me off to this idea; although if its the case its kind of falling into the trap of becoming the very thing its parodying.
I will say CCCCM is worth playing just for the method of quitting the program. I got a good laugh out of it. And the Bird Museum is worth a look also, i saw a fair few highlights in my brief time playing it.
1. https://www.louiezong.com/about
2. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1177742077280436224
3. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1177745589850689536
4. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1237175112895352832
5. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-bird-museum-is-louie-zongs-free-collection-of-crowdsourced-bird-art?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
The Bird Museum is an interesting experiment. Artist and Musician Louie Zong[1] made a call on a twitter post for "BAD CROWDSOURCED BIRD ART"[2]. Overwhelmed by how many entries were submitted a cutoff point was set that same day to limit the amount of bird pictures[3], which ended up being over 1000[4].
As the Kotaku Article points out, virtual museums are nothing new[5], nor are crowdsourced ones at that. The article mentions the Crows Crows Crows community museum (though this is not bird themed, its just the name of the dev which made the Dr Langeskov game). Which I also played cause its not as if the Bird Museum is particularly long. Although I suppose it depends on personal bird art satisfaction.
Essentially the selection of paintings is randomized to about 50 from the 1000 total, you can reset the museum at any point to reshuffle the selection of paintings but not the 3D modelled statues[5]. It strikes a nice balance in curation between the designer and the random number generator. I suppose it means that if you really truly wanted to "complete" the Bird Museum it would take a while because there is no mechanism to prevent repeats (nor do i think it should, I think the experimental, random nature of the selection is entirely appropriate and intentional) and in the 3 resets I did I see a couple of duplicates.
If there is something to criticise I would say the postprocessing effects are both ugly and against the whole purpose of displaying the crowsourced art, filtered by awful visual filters. Another thing I sort of appreciate but also dislike is the sprint function. I was walking around with a slow speed I thought was deliberate to emulating how one explores physical museums but no, you press shift and get to zoom along. I suppose we need not necessarily be shackled to the limitations of the real world but personally I thought the slow walking speed worked, the museum is small anyways. I should mention the game is free but invites us to donate some money to the audubon charity.
Crows Crows Crows Community museum starts us off opening our eyes in a vast empty-ish space with the titular museum behind you, sitting as a giant rectangular block with the title written on it. Its rather far away and before long you close your eyes and are teleported to it. Its much more elaborate than the bird museum and honestly resembles a real life gallery/museum. Now, I might be off base here, but I think CCCCM is supposed to be a satire of museums? I think Id like for others to play it but a few things, namely the plaque with the history of the museum and a few other things tipped me off to this idea; although if its the case its kind of falling into the trap of becoming the very thing its parodying.
I will say CCCCM is worth playing just for the method of quitting the program. I got a good laugh out of it. And the Bird Museum is worth a look also, i saw a fair few highlights in my brief time playing it.
1. https://www.louiezong.com/about
2. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1177742077280436224
3. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1177745589850689536
4. https://twitter.com/everydaylouie/status/1237175112895352832
5. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-bird-museum-is-louie-zongs-free-collection-of-crowdsourced-bird-art?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter