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“Counting Birds for Five Minutes,” 2019, still from video of John McCarty and LaReese Wolfenbarger, Ph.D., founders of the Laboratory of Avian Ecology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Filmed at Glacier Creek Prairie Preserve.
Concert for Birdland Look, It’s Daybreak, Dear, Time to Sing is an artful ‘science project’ for the senses on behalf of aviary ecology. by Kent Behrens
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ne of the most popular destinations in Omaha’s Old Market is the Old Market Passageway. Once a simple urban alley, for several decades now it has been home to a variety of shops, restaurants and offices. The cozy space draws many local visitors and tourists, an occasional dog and, sporadically, a misdirected bird finds sanctuary. At any time throughout the year, an adventurous nighthawk or cowbird might locate a gap in the roof. Water is divinely provided by the Er-
innyes Fountain, and food is supplied by kindly staff and restaurateurs. It is just this intriguing interspecies cohabitation that is at the center of an equally interesting exhibit currently on view at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Look, It’s Daybreak, Dear, Time to Sing is the creation of Canadian artists Richard Ibghy and Marilou Lemmens. The illuminating, multimedia installation examines various ways in which human activity directly and indirectly affects avian
ecology. The show was curated by Sylvie Fortin, curator-in-residence at the Bemis, as part of her ongoing research into habitat, cohabitation and hospitality. Birds are found in art, folklore and myth across the globe, representing birth (stork), death (raven, crow) and rebirth (phoenix). They are often used as symbols of freedom and power. Humans have used birds as sentinels, as in the coal miner’s canary, hunters, communication tools, food and pets. For millennia, interaction between
humans and birds has been deep and complex. The exhibit, which continues through Feb. 15, consists of numerous small sculptures on nine tables placed around the room, with several video screens mounted on the surrounding walls. Each table contains a grouping of quietly simple wooden-block sculptures that, on initial assessment, appear to be child’s toys, mobiles and board games. Affixed to each of the nine tables are handwritten labels identifying each
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