Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire, Christopher T. Creyts; Matthew Day Jackson; Collaborative Art Editions

Artwork Overview

born 1974
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire, 2015–2016
Portfolio/Series title: There Will Come Soft Rains
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: color intaglio
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 493 x 398 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 19 7/16 x 15 11/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 686 x 520 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 27 x 20 1/2 in
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 495 x 403 mm
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 1/2 x 15 7/8 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund
Accession number: 2016.0024.07
Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Perhaps Jackson’s most scornful apocalyptic possibility is his suggestion that humans may simply become too stupid to sustain our planet. One way this occurs, Jackson argues, is through the messages we learn from cartoons that oversimplify our understanding of the natural world, and assign human
characteristics, motivations, and behaviors to animals. In the foreground of a fiery evocation of the Disney film Bambi are two blue jays, birds known for their noisy chatter and aggressive behavior, but also their intelligence and curiosity.

Exhibitions

Resources

Audio

Listen to a curator talk about this work.
Listen to a curator talk about this work.
One way I researched this exhibition was to show these prints to Town Peterson and Mark Robbins from KU’s Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. Town and Mark told me that Audubon depicts these blue jays stealing eggs from some other songbird. Audubon described the jays as rogues or thieves, which seems to be just the sort of anthropomorphism Jackson is warning us about in this image.

Links