Shape, Shine and Silhouette, is a public intervention that consists of one dozen porcelain geese that I installed and left in a large recreational park near the heart of downtown Denver.
The park is popular among people, as well as, thousands of live geese because these green spaces are the only open urban areas along the birds’ migratory routes. People view these large elegant waterfowl as a nuisance because they defecate everywhere. However, the perception of which species is a nuisance changes when you watch children chasing the geese or see a car run one over. I installed these geese in this environment in order to challenge unsuspecting viewers to consider aspects of urban nature, such as wildlife, that they take for granted.
These ceramic geese are decorated with elaborate “urban” warning coloration. Warning coloration is a protective physical device inherent in some animals such as snakes. In some cases warning coloration implies that the animal has a form of deadly protection, such as venom. In other cases warning coloration is a ruse that is effective only because other similar species do possess deadly protection. Like this second more superficial strategy the glaze on these geese is meant to warn people that they are not to be trifled with, concealing the fact that they are excessively fragile.
