Ellen Gallagher “Bird in hand”

Ellen Gallagher  “Bird in hand” presented anonymously 2007

Ellen Gallagher is an American artist with fascinating imagination and very interesting artworks. She was born in 1965 year at the Providence, Rhode Island. Her parents are different ethnicities: father - Afro-American, mother - Caucasian Irish. She studied art and sculpture in Ohio, Boston and Maine.

On this art piece Ellen Gallagher touched the theme of slavery and human trade in the 19th century. Often she shows black people in her works to tell the history and also to remind people her roots and heritage. Gallagher images and films are created to break all those stereotypes about Afro-American people, particularly about women in the postwar-era when all the cliches where targeting them.  

Gallagher do minimalistic abstractions and photo-based narratives which makes her one of the representatives of the “New Negro” style. The "New Negro" term appeared in 19th century in America, later on it was defined like "Harlem Renaissance" or "Post-Reconstruction" period in the U.S.. In general, this movement was about declining the racial segregation of black people and showing that all races are equal in America. Ellen usually works with magazine pieces, plasticine, paint and other media to transform the meaning or appearance of the picture. She’s also popular with her scrimshaws works - paintings with the ivory. "Recurring elements in Gallagher's work include penmanship paper and other found materials applied to canvas, and surfaces transformed by methods like smudging, staining, and puncturing".

The art piece “Bird in hand” relates to the proverb “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and I guess it means that freedom is the biggest treasure we have. The image was created  in the memory of all  African slaves from Cape Verde islands, West coast of Africa - the birthplace of her father and a hub of a slave and salt trade for almost 3 centuries. Additionally, the protagonist has a prototype - Captain Ahab from the noel “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville. For the artist he implies travel and independent spirit in the endless ocean areas.

 This picture has a massive size and it shows the underwater scene. The central figure is a man - sailor, pirate with a peg-leg and a swirling hair. He holds the dark green parrot in his hand, wearing common for pirates shirt and trousers."The figure is surrounded by trails of colourful shapes that reminds seaweed and his foot and peg-leg seem entangled in marine-like vegetation". His face is partially obscured by the mask which covers his eye. His hair embodies tree brunches which might explain his wide outlook and erudition in the marine work and sailing. 

For this image Ellen Gallagher used old magazines, newspapers and maps. "She built up the “Bird” in layers, applying pieces of printed paper, plasticine, rough rock crystals, silver paint and gold leaf to create a relief". The figure’s hair was made up of layers of paper cut into different shapes. On some elements there are images of old adverts, routes or beauty products for black people.

I myself, had a little different point of view on that image. At first I saw a man who transforms into a tree in the garden. Than, I noticed his outlook and understood that he is a pirate from Africa holding something in his hand. Anyway, after reading the description I realised how balanced and clear the “Bird in hand” communicates with audience. It actually shows all the depth of the central figure who is a bit shady and weird. It also can tell a story of the black people and their hard times in the history of slavery. I cannot say this message will work for everyone, but on my opinion, Ellen Gallagher did everything to show what she think and what bothers her.

For me, this picture is unique because of its relief and narrative that stands behind it. There is a meaning and it’s possible to understand it. There are beautiful and very eye-catching elements. There is a reality which converts into patterns. This is the underwater scene full of poetry and songs from the ancient times, which appeared on the canvas. I love pictures like that, as they are like a huge cinema screen, but with more meaning and with the more realistic story.

Bibliography:

Tate. (2018). ‘Bird in Hand’, Ellen Gallagher, 2006 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gallagher-bird-in-hand-t12450 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ellen Gallagher. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Gallagher [Accessed 27 Nov. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Racial segregation. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_segregation [Accessed 03 Dec. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). New Negro. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Negro [Accessed 03 Dec. 2018].

Artsy.net. (2018). Ellen Gallagher - 41 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy. [online] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artist/ellen-gallagher [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].

Gagosian. (2018). Ellen Gallagher | Gagosian. [online] Available at: https://gagosian.com/artists/ellen-gallagher/ [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].