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Showing posts with label @realpigeonsofla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label @realpigeonsofla. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27

Pigeon Box Art and Pigeon-Related Art Commissions Around the Greater Los Angeles Area. [Updating: now, with Pigeons and Friends]

An ongoing online exhibition featuring visual odes to the pigeons that I've discovered, or happened upon, as a trekker of many streets and locales in and around the Greater Los Angeles area. 

Box Art is a trending artistic expression form that sprung up, several years ago, as a seemingly ordained vehicle of artists' aspirations for public recognition (I'm not sure of the origins or certifying agency behind the legality of painting on public sidewalk utility server boxes). 

The pigeons, being the endearing young explorers and ambassadors to the town that they are, have merited several works of art dedicated to them over the years, in the lives, works, and hearts of artists and art lovers all across several locales around the Los Angeles region. 


The South Pasadena Metro Station

A tentative pigeon on a Metro station utility box in South Pasadena, CA.

A child kneels and plays, as the pigeon's curious companion on the same utility box.

Los Angeles Trade Tech College Murals
LA Trade Tech College features various murals two of them featuring pigeons.

A pigeon commemorates the city of Los Angeles in this mural.
 
The Martin Luther King Blvd. at Harbor Freeway 110 Underpass Murals.




The Ernst and Young Plaza Poetry Pigeons; Curious Over a Fried Egg - Cast Metal Statue

Santa Monica Pier re-opening welcome banner.


Update: 01/24/2022: 

While out working on some more recent developments, of about a year-and-a-half since I’d last made inclusions and updates to this blog, I’ve come across a previously unknown, or previously non-existent - charming mural rendition of some of the Friends of the Pigeon: a sparrow, and what appears to be perhaps a baby seagull, with a characteristically youthful withdrawn stance, about the bust (breast, neck and head) of the bird, of which would suppose a more socially-shy and unsure fledgling addition to a flock, amongst adults, in a similar manner in which a puppy reserves it’s tail in between its legs, as an ostensible sign of submission to the elders and authorities of the pack, or family unit. This mural is located in the Playa Del Rey area, which is part of the expanse of public works projects that include a nature reserve designation, of sorts, that encompasses the Los Angeles River, which begins, winding further up the road, and around the bend, a bit, feeding in to channels that comprise the Venice Beach Canals (which are an upscale series of channeled waterways that mimic the Classical Canals of Italy’s Venice; thus Venice Beach, CA, is rightly named as, such that it would suppose a proper nod of the hat towards a facet of our Western heritage and culture, here in America; Venice Beach, largely known as a small, yet concentrated locality of the West Coast, in attracting many professionals and patrons of the Los Angeles, CA artistic culture and of progressive minds and lifestyles, and the area is, therefore, rich in diversity, arts, and spirituality. The Ballona Wetlands, as it is known, further up in to this current area, known as Del Rey, bordering on Culver City, in this instance, is a rehabilitated natural and native wetlands plants reserve, where the river flows inland, turning, at some point, several miles up the road from the beach, and winding its way through Los Angeles, as a large concrete ditch, perhaps anywhere from 20-30 feet deep, and, at times, anywhere from 30-75 feet wide, perhaps more, in some cases, as a watershed management development of the larger systems of society and government, and it is rumored that, at some point, the development project is projected to expand the entirety of the lateral expanse of the lower 48 states of America in coming decades.



Somewhere

at the edge of two localities, the river becomes a great wash basin, capable of handling a significant flow of water, perhaps, someday.



Hollywood, CA - YMCA building.


The Hollywood YMCA, in the heart of Hollywood, CA, features an external mural and protective wall (since there’s sometimes small civic uprisings that find their way in to Hollywood, lately, at times [mid-late 2022]) featuring black and white birds, perhaps pigeons, that they could be. 



Thursday, June 30

The DTLA (CA, USA) police administration dog park pigeon flock, having dinner.

This flock is a somewhat special flock, for demonstrating trusting behaviors, up to this point in time, although I’ve the same behaviors, previously, in some of the other flocks in town - it’s that the flocks become subjected to inappropriate human interventions in their populations by drugging them, catching them, and apparently, intentionally torturing and abusing them by tying strings around their feet and legs. It’s a travesty that this sort of behavior, by people, is still happening, but I’m committed to seeing to it, of that the birds continue to be fed and, with time, I expect that people will refrain from victimizing the town’s birds. It’s currently unknown “just who” is factually perpetrating these crimes, and I’m hoping to raise awareness and seek community solidarity, over time, in assisting in protecting the birds from intentional abuses, for observing the birds’ natural beauty, such as I have captured on video, today, and for recognizing their intrinsic worth as a locality attraction and for the potential of birds to touch people’s lives in perhaps unexpected and transformational ways.




Sunday, May 15

Hanging out with the USC dumpster pigeons, a displaced Los Angeles local pigeon flock.

Being that 

I’ve been doing this pigeon-feeding thing for about 5 years now, on a regular basis, by this point, I’ve come to track the progress and movements (or whereabouts) of some of the flocks and even some of the individual members, between flocks. It’s important for diversity to flourish, as well as for the fact that they have an opportunity to take in differing diets, from other feeders, although I try to treat my flocks that I cover with special consideration - I offer them bread with rich, sweetened dairy products - soaked completely, with a bit of water. It gets tossed out to the birds in a broad swath, and they come to recognize the food, and the feeding gesture as a welcoming and non-threatening deed, for them, since I’m not particularly trying to get them to be comfortable with coming in to close quarters with their feeders - there are still people who are trying to trap the pigeons, at this point in time; I figure that this will continue on, for years to come. 


In any case, however, I do like that this particular flock, which used to be “homed” over at Hoover Park, by USC, I would imagine - since I don’t see the flock over here, any more, 

The USC dumpster pigeons’ previous daily setting, out at Hoover Park.



is now at a more public-transit frequented location. Perhaps it’s simply easier for them to find food, here, and the employees at Dirt Dog do offer them daily bread, I’ve observed, although it’s tack-dry bread. When I encounter that the bread had been tossed out to them, on some days, I take it and re-wet it, to ensure that the birds get some essential fluids in them.

Although they’re not quite as well-positioned, on the way to becoming wildlife | domesticated birds, out in the public sphere, that could be changed, over time, with some dedication and care, as far as their nutritional intake and supplementation goes. I suppose that that would be my job. Be sure to check them out some time, just off the Ortho Institute Expo Line Metro Train Stop.

Monday, December 6

Updating: the DTLA Pershing Square flocks of pigeons and sparrows - cute! (Photo blog)

 Here’s an updating photo blog documenting the attainments gained, the social developments, and sometimes just the plain cuteness, of the pigeon and sparrow flocks that reside in the Downtown Los Angeles park of Pershing Square. These flocks are perhaps the most prolific and showy flocks in the DTLA civic center area. 



Update: 12/09/2021

Today was a rainy day at Pershing Square. Check out the wet pigeons! 











Sunday, October 17

It’s slim pickings, at the end of my food supply, for the Figueroa at 4th underpass pigeons, today.

I'm at the end of my food supply for the birds, out here, in Downtown Los Angeles, and it's been a rough patch for this flock,over the past week, in my care and watch over them, which I'd been making sure to get to. I do 4 flock areas, in Downtown Los Angeles, when I come out here.

(Update): I had recalled that I found a container of some sort of rich beef soup, and I gave it to them. This past week, it seemed as that there might have been some people present, in the nearby vicinity, and the birds weren't perching at their regular location, in a notch, under the underpass bridge. The birds were super excited to get some food in them, as this spot is most typically my last stop, in visiting the birds of DTLA.



Saturday, September 4

The life of baby striped-wing pigeon: photo blog.

 This baby pigeon is developing a notable curious personality around his human caretakers. See some of the developments of him and the flock, after they settle in, for a bit, after a meal, when they mingle about and show off their virtues, as birds, in preening themselves. It is both social hour and development time, in the nurturing environment setting, and with how intelligent birds can be, attaining a publicly-accessible wild-to-domesticated flock characteristic seems to be within reach, given some dedication over the coming years. 



Just today, I rescued this baby pigeon from having string tied around his feet. He was trusting enough to allow me to nab him and hold him close to me, as I carefully removed the string around his feet. Fortunately, the string wasn’t that tight. It symbolizes a significant milestone in the flock’s collective tameness and trust, which is, essentially, a call for mercy and grace for the pigeons, outside of the times in which I am present and feeding them. Desiring to own the birds, as they become more near to what would considerably be a pet, is an obvious lure, for some, in having little experience in handling birds, yet it takes efforts of some and various sorts, in public relations, I would imagine, in establishing appropriate boundaries and rational considerations for what’s best for ourselves, as well as the birds of DTLA; here, the location is Pershing Square, where I’m giving a relatively large and common flock of birds food, water, and socialization care, several times a week, or every day that I can do this task. 

The older birds will never attain domesticity amongst humans. This is the important thing to keep in mind. The foundling period, post-nestling phase, of the ecology of the flocks and breeding pairs of birds, is a most vulnerable time in the pro-sociable health and development of the flocks of pigeons. In this stage, in a pigeon’s life, the babies come out to eat and explore, with feeding the birds, and watering them, being the traditional and formal greeting of the flock for humans. In this small locality (Pershing Square), an afternoon feeding is common, and on occasions where I had stuck around, for a while, a venturesome squirrel appears, and he enjoys a slice of bread, as well. 

A squirrel 🐿 in DTLA’s Pershing Square.

















Curious baby pigeon stands out, amongst the crowd.

Update: 

For those of you who don’t follow along on my Twitter so much, I’ll update you on my latest developments of the day. I started working on the curious baby pigeon stands out amongst the crowd vectorized, posterized, film noir stylized ink brush illustration [and subsequent print out, for display], and it’s looking fabulous, after about 6 1/2 hours work put in to it. 

 

Friday, August 27

The importance of expressing affections, in order to attain fulfillment of our needs.

 I've arrived here late: 6:45 p.m., here, just outside of the Civic Center Metropolitan district of Downtown L.A., by the 23rd St. | Orthopaedic Institute Metro Expo Line Station. I'd been hoping to get here, even days sooner, in order to check up on the USC dumpster pigeons flock, at the parking lot, nearby Popeye's Chicken, located at the corner of Adams and Figueroa. 

The pigeons usually hang out, as a large flock, lined up at the edge of the back of the buildings.


Today, it was a scant crowd, with some pigeons scattered about, on the street lighting poles, and here and there. Not much. 




Regardless of that I had missed their standard day's hang out, which peaks in the late morning, perhaps, through early afternoon (I had slept in until 2:30 p.m., today; I was quite exhausted, apparently, from having arrived home, last night, around 1:30 p.m.). My Google Maps location tracking timeline says that I walked 52 miles yesterday: obviously not possibly true, and I didn't go to Arcadia; I'm not sure why or how that was put in to the timeline. 



I tossed the birds some old soggy sandwich, broken in to pieces, that I had procured, along my journeys from the the previous days. The birds were not quite actively attentive to me, and for the sake of that food had arrived for them, although I did get some reciprocation out of a few of them, after a few moments had passed. 



The moment had reminded me of the figurative meanings behind feeding the birds: seeking a "some day (to come)" affection, out of the flocks of pigeons, given years of care and dedication having been offered to them, and hoping for this long-standing task to effect a semi-domesticated manner and characteristic about the flocks, around town, and hopefully, some day, the birds will be hand-tame, out in public. It's a parable about the importance of loving and kind affections, in a sense. We all long to be with our life partner, and to establish a family around the ideas, based on the American Dream, although, as the images of the pigeons, here, in this case, show; we are not always successful at attaining our ends, means, and goals, in life, despite trying. 

In the end, I managed to get the pigeons' attention, and they did a roundabout whole-flock flight, for show. This behavioral pattern is to signal birds perching nearby of that resources had arrived, in order for the rest of the birds to eat. It's a pro-sociable figurative gesture; the rest of the birds are similarly seeking food, yet they would perhaps be missing out on the meal otherwise, whereas they are of intrinsic value to the entire flock, given that they're scouting out resources, just as similarly as they are, in this chosen source spot, for food; behind the building. It's a naturally-derived behavioral more, of worthy ethics about it. The human-relevant moral of this event is that we ought to have an ambient ethical threshold of consideration and manners towards others; it's the natural order, and sustainable life's path to follow. 

After some time, other birds had arrived, and they didn't seem all that hungry, for today. At least there's food sitting out, and tomorrow will be another day. 






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