“A murmuration of starlings is difficult to
understand without seeing it
for oneself. Murmur, a series of photographs of this majestic
occurrence by NYC-based photographer Richard Barnes, makes it a bit more
comprehensible. Barnes was in Rome in 2005 as a winner of the Rome Prize when
he witnessed his first murmuration, which was also when he learned of its
existence. At the time he was finishing his book Animal Logic,
so stumbling upon these birds and their swirling formations in the sky was
quite a stroke of luck.
‘I was looking across the city of Rome one day in
the Fall, and I happened to notice this smudge on the sky that was moving
slowly towards us,’ Barnes recalls. He learned that up to 100,000 starlings fly
into the city every year in winter. They feed in the countryside during the day
and at night they come into the city to roost. Each night, ‘they do this
amazing aerial display before they roost. I found one of the better places in
Rome where this occurred, and I would go each evening to photograph.’ That
science can still not explain precisely how these birds are able to fly in such
intricate arrangements only makes these images that much more magical.
Barnes’ work is on view at NYC’s Foley Gallery through
February 23rd, as well as at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
through May 4th, 2014.”
- Alyssa Coppelman (Feature Shoot)
1 comment:
It's almost as though the birds are trying to create an image at times!
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