Biodiversity Reclamation Suit: Carolina Parakeet

Laurel Roth Hope, Biodiversity Reclamation Suit: Carolina Parakeet, 2009, suit: cotton, silk, bamboo, wool, and acrylic blended yarn mannequin: basswood, acrylic paint, gouache, glass, pewter, and walnut, 9813 in. (22.920.333 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joyce Schwartz in honor of Judith S. Weisman, museum purchase, and museum purchase from friends of the Renwick Gallery, 2013.76.2A-B, © 2009, Laurel Roth Hope

Artwork Details

Title
Biodiversity Reclamation Suit: Carolina Parakeet
Date
2009
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
9813 in. (22.920.333 cm)
Copyright
© 2009, Laurel Roth Hope
Credit Line
Gift of Joyce Schwartz in honor of Judith S. Weisman, museum purchase, and museum purchase from friends of the Renwick Gallery
Mediums Description
suit: cotton, silk, bamboo, wool, and acrylic blended yarn mannequin: basswood, acrylic paint, gouache, glass, pewter, and walnut
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — bird — parrot
Object Number
2013.76.2A-B

Artwork Description

Hope uses humor to address the serious subject of species extinction in her Biodiversity Reclamation Suits. These suits allow common rock pigeons to masquerade as extinct North American birds -- if not actually to "reclaim" biodiversity, then at least to give the appearance of it. One can't help but smile, imagining these birds clad in their bright, borrowed feathers roaming our city streets, even as we note that the damage we do to our environment cannot always be undone.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Works by this artist (14 items)

Nellie Mae Rowe, At the Art Gallery, 1979, crayon and felt tip on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2021.29.10
At the Art Gallery
Date1979
crayon and felt tip on paper
Not on view
Nellie Mae Rowe, Untitled (Four-Leaf Clover and Little Zebra), 1980, marker on silver gelatin print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2021.29.6
Untitled (Four-Leaf Clover and Little Zebra)
Date1980
marker on silver gelatin print
Not on view
Nellie Mae Rowe, Church Lady in Pants Suit, 1980, crayon and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2021.29.9
Church Lady in Pants Suit
Date1980
crayon and pencil on paper
Not on view
Nellie Mae Rowe, Untitled (Landscape with Black Girl), ca. 1980, crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.131
Untitled (Landscape with Black Girl)
Dateca. 1980
crayon on paper
Not on view

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      Laurel Roth Hope uses traditional techniques of carving, embroidery, crochet, and collage to transform ordinary materials into elaborate animal sculptures that are both playful and poignant. Her work is influenced by her background as a park ranger and focuses on the relationship between humankind and nature, touching on topics such as environmental protection, animal behavior, and species extinction.

      Related Books

      4040_500.jpg
      40 Under 40: Craft Futures
      40 Under 40: Craft Futures examines the expanding role of the handmade in contemporary culture through the work of the next generation of artists. Organized in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian's branch museum for American craft and decorative arts, this project gathers forty makers born since 1972, the year the Renwick opened to the public. Apparent are rapidly evolving notions of craft, ranging from traditional media, such as ceramics and jewelry, to fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, performance and installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics.

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Nellie Mae Rowe, Church Lady in Pants Suit, 1980, crayon and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2021.29.9
      Church Lady in Pants Suit
      Date1980
      crayon and pencil on paper
      Not on view
      Man Ray, Détachement-soulever le fil-regarder le dessín, 1970, felt-tipped pen and ink, crayon, pencil, string and postage stamp on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Juliet Man Ray, 1980.102.3
      Détachement-soulever le fil-regarder le dessín
      Artist
      Date1970
      felt-tipped pen and ink, crayon, pencil, string and postage stamp on paper
      Not on view
      Bill Beirne, Cross Reference, production notes (directional diagram), 1976, crayon, pencil, and ink on paper with additions in collage, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Gene Davis Memorial Fund, 2015.6.6, © 1976, Bill Beirne
      Cross Reference, production notes (directional diagram)
      Date1976
      crayon, pencil, and ink on paper with additions in collage
      Not on view