{"id":2190,"date":"2015-05-09T12:25:22","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T12:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dolly.jorgensenweb.net\/nordicnature\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2015-05-09T12:25:22","modified_gmt":"2015-05-09T12:25:22","slug":"commemorating-war-and-our-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dolly.jorgensenweb.net\/nordicnature\/?p=2190","title":{"rendered":"Commemorating war and our losses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday\u00a0marked the 70th anniversary of Victory Day<\/a>, which remembers the end of World War II in Europe with the surrender of the Nazi forces to the Allies. Of course in addition to celebrating the final success, festivities focus on honouring all those died in the conflict. There are memorial stones and graves to generals, battalions, unknown soldiers, and civilians. Animals who served in war are likewise honoured in permanent form at the Animals in War Memorial <\/a>in London, the Australian Animals in War Memorial<\/a>, and the US National War Dog Cemetery<\/a> on Guam.\u00a0Modern society has a penchant for commemorating its war dead.<\/p>\n

When I visited the Smithsonian in Washington DC in April, I realised that extinct animals are no exception to this impetus to commemorate the lost. The artist Todd McGrain has created a series of sculptures as part of The Lost Bird Project<\/a>. The bronze sculptures, which have been on display at the Smithsonian, depict five extinct North American bird species as mode of exposing “the tragedy of modern extinction”, according to the website.<\/p>\n

\"Passenger<\/a>
Passenger Pigeon, Lost Bird Project, in Smithsonian garden, April 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The passenger pigeon sculpture stood\u00a0in front of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where the Once There Were Billions exhibit<\/a> inside featured stories and taxidermied specimens of the passenger pigeon, great auk, Carolina parakeet, and heath hen. I reflected previously <\/a>about my experience of meeting Martha, the last passenger pigeon. The statue likewise had a pensive feel, in dark bronze, looking up into a sky which will never again\u00a0be darkened by invading pigeon flocks.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian Castle garden featured a quartet of birds: the Carolina parakeet, great auk, heath hen, and labrador duck (a species not featured in the museum exhibit). They are lovely representations\u00a0with smooth flowing contours that move the statues beyond natural history into modern abstraction.<\/p>\n

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