By the time he’d turned 18, John James Audubon knew he wanted to be an artist, and he’d nailed down both a subject of interest and a lofty goal: the content of his artworks would be birds, and he would endeavor to paint and describe every bird species in the U.S. He didn’t ultimately reach that goal, but his 435 life-size renderings assembled in the tome “The Birds of America” has placed Audubon squarely in the annals of history as a legendary artist and environmentalist. He didn’t start out with such a distinction, though — he experienced some hard times establishing himself as a respected painter. He was forced to embellish his image, and he claimed he’d studied with the famed Neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis David — he hadn’t. In 2018, the standards aren’t the same; one doesn’t necessarily need a stamp of approval or a bourgeoisie standing to make it. Nicolas Holiber, whose public art installation “Birds on Broadway” will occupy the streets of upper Manhattan from 64th to 166th Streets come April 2019, is an artist like Audubon was — but that’s where the similarities end. Holiber doesn’t boast a big birding background, and he keeps a low profile. He works either alone

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD https://ift.tt/2NlKMU4