Batloft, Joey’s Coop, Babylon Coop & Niknak’s City Cart
Pat McCarthy
Porcelain, stainless steel
17 in. × 10 in. × 15 in. (Batloft)
12.5 in. × 9 in. × 8 in. (Joey’s Coop)
12.5 in. × 9 in. × 8.5 in. (Babylon Coop)
17 in. × 10 in. × 15 in. (Niknak’s City Cart)
Discovery Garden
For ten years, artist Pat McCarthy has been caring for hundreds of pigeons, which he raises and trains to fly in choreographed patterns. Three of these birdhouses are porcelain sculptures of the active pigeon coops he’s constructed on his Bushwick rooftop. Niknak’s City Cart is a sculpture of a hotdog cart McCarthy himself owned and operated on the Lower East Side in 2019. This birdhouse is made from stainless steel reclaimed from that very cart. “I hope viewers appreciate the degrees to which birds adapt and benefit from our human-built architecture,” McCarthy says.
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Pat McCarthy (b. 1987, U.S.) works in sculpture, zine-making, and film. McCarthy’s work presents poetic narratives born of deep ritualized engagement with nature, animals, and travel. He raises and trains pigeons atop his studio in Bushwick and is an active member of the longstanding New York pigeon community. His work is executed and exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally. He is a member of the collectives Satan Ceramics and 8 Ball Community.
Artist website: patmccarthy.net
Instagram: @pigeon_pat
Listen
Little Birdie
Loudon Wainwright III
This recording from The Birdsong Project was selected to complement this birdhouse.
Birdhouse Location
For the Birds Presenting Sponsor
