Title

Bird of paradise [by Murray Griffin]..

Author

Bunbury, Alisa .

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

1998

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Bird of paradise.

Although the majority of Griffin's prints portray indigenous birds, he did enjoy the opulent plumage of exotic birds such as these, Arfak Astrapia from Papua New Guinea. The birds have extended neck plumage, evident in the print, and iridescent feathers beneath the neck, which are visible only in the correct light. These are depicted in orange on the upper bird. As with most of Griffin’s bird prints, the print is based on sketches drawn at the Museum of Victoria. When viewed, the stuffed birds show the manner in which Griffin has altered the bird to enhance the image. In this case, the tail of the upper bird has bean positioned as though seen from behind, in order to demonstrate the length d the tail feathers. This print is one d the earliest works to include the use of screenprinting, although it appears, by the uneven ink around the outlines, that Griffin was still experimenting with combining the two techniques.

© Alisa Bunbury, 1998.