Field Guide (2021 – present)
As a natural history nerd, I often think about how we humans classify and catalog life. The social implications of our evolved human impulse to categorize are generally grim, but the same proclivity allows us to better appreciate evolution and the relationship between species, subspecies, and ecological races (or ecotypes).
For the Field Guide project, I consider birds from one angle – literally, birds viewed in profile. I then breakdown each bird by color (plumage, legs, beaks/bills, and eyes) and create the column shown in the center of each poster. The colors in each column are stacked according to the percentage of a given color observed, with the largest share at the column’s top and the smallest share at the column’s base. The bird’s English common name and its scientific binomial are noted on the poster’s base, along with information on the bird’s sex, and, if relevant, plumage variation.
The resulting posters are visually compelling tributes to each featured species. Exhibited together, the posters can also be organized into a loose color taxonomy, providing an alternative, aestheticized approach to classifying or grouping these species.
I hope that the Field Guide posters will be appreciated by bird nerds, designers, and lovers of Josef Albers (🟪🟦🟩), but the project is also a playful way for me to both celebrate and critique the necessarily imperfect science of taxonomy.
Please visit my Print Shop to purchase Field Guide archival poster prints.
