Bird of Paradise Sirin 1905

Ivan Bilibin made Bird of Paradise Sirin using ink and watercolor on paper. It's an illustration and immediately, I think of fairy tales and fables and maybe even a bit of propaganda. Look at the cross-hatching that gives the body form and how the wings are delineated. Bilibin paid attention to every little detail and in that gesture, you can see the tradition of iconography. I imagine he would have been thinking about the history of image-making and how images function in society. What if he wanted to create a modern icon? There is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, and artists are always inspiring one another’s creativity. I find myself inspired by artists who embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings over fixed or definitive readings.