ZUGUNRUHE: A SCULPTURAL STUDY OF FLIGHT

Zugunruhe is an Environmental Art Independent Study made possible thanks to a grant from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Vermont. This piece is an exploration or avian aeronautics and the relationship between anatomical efficiency and visual aesthetics found in the natural world. The end result of this environmental art endeavor is a ten-foot tall by eight-foot wide undulating wooden sculpture simulating the movement of a bird’s wing in flight, and completely covered with 1,000 bird wings salvaged from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. This piece is currently exhibited at the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, Vermont.

Zugunruhe - The urge of captive birds to migrate; manifested in restless and anxious behavior.

Origin, German

ANALYSIS OF FLIGHT

PRELIMINARY SKETCH AND PROTOTYPE

CONSTRUCTION OF WOODEN FRAME

INSTALLATION