Birdcalls

Birdcalls consists of an audio tape on which Louise Lawler has twittered, chirped and trilled the names of 28 contemporary male artists, from Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Sol LeWitt and Andy Warhol to Lawrence Weiner. Casual listening gives the impression of different species of birds singing to one another in a garden. It is only gradually that the individual names become distinct. Lawler chose artists’ names which, at the time the work was created, stood for success, were easily recognizable and thus represented the male-dominated art market. In the form of mating calls and territorial songs, however, these names operate as a humorous, mocking commentary on patriarchal structures and the discrimination—then even more tangible than now against women artists.



 

Workdetails
  • original Title: Birdcalls
  • Date: 1972 – 1981
  • Genre: Audio Tape

This work is issued in following texts