B!RDBRA!N. One of the most artworks by Emily Mast that is part of Public Fiction’s exhibition of the new biennal from LA. Made in L.A. At Hammer Museum.
The manifest of this artwork performance is:
“No general idea, not one idea, but an accumulation of details. One detail after another. All the time, without interruption or pauses”. — Guy de Cointet, 1979
The synopsis of the artwork:
Alex was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year Avian Language EXperiment (hence, his name) that set out to prove that birds can reason on a basic level and use words creatively. Alex consistently demonstrated an ability to learn symbolic and conceptual tasks often associated with complex cognitive and communication skills. The animal psychologist who worked with Alex for 30 years, Dr. Irene Pepperberg, claimed that Alex used a two-way communications code and could identify 50 different objects and recognize quantities up to six; that he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand various spatial concepts. Alex showed surprise and anger, and could add, to a limited extent. He even understood the concept of zero. Alex died suddenly and unexpectedly on September 6, 2007. His last words to Pepperberg were: “You be good. I love you.” Pepperberg’s research remains controversial, with some skeptics maintaining that Alex’s apparent mastery of language revealed nothing more than a very sophisticated version of conditioned responses.
The work during 40 minutes, but here we let the prologue (25 min), if you want to get in atmosphere of B!RDBRA!N, come in!