Corvus features 12 black aluminum ravens that are in various flight positions, from wings up to wings down. When the disk crank at the bottom of the sculpture is turned, the birds swirl around the sculpture’s mirrored crown.
While the birds spin, viewers that stand a short distance away from the sculpture will see this swirling flock transformed into a three-dimensional animation of a single raven in flight. This amination trick plays upon the Victorian novelty invention called a “Praxinoscope” that pre-dated motion picture films.
The artist’s explorations into cross‐cultural, universal myths and their attraction to natural themes led them to the inspiration for this sculpture. Ravens are part of the worldwide, distributed bird grouping called “corvus”. They are a truly cross-cultural family and are featured widely in the mythology of almost all cultures such as West Coast First Nations, Irish, Norse, Swedish, Australian Aboriginal, Greek, and Hindu peoples. Ravens are known for their intelligence, family groupings and association with the spirit world.
Location:
Rey Sargent Park (Lonsdale Avenue & 21st Street)
Materials:
Polished stainless steel armature with aluminum Ravens finished in a deep black.
About the artists:
Artists Cheryl Hamilton & Michael Vandermeer form the artistic collaboration that is ie:. They believe that art can serve to inspire and provide a moment of celebration and community interaction when placed outside the gallery walls and into public space. Cheryl and Michael work with themes that involve nature and physics, combining their different backgrounds: art and science respectively. As artists that fabricate and install their own work, practicalities such as material choices, production schedules and production techniques are considered from the moment of an idea’s germination.
