A WISE OLD OWL

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?

My chosen English nursery rhyme after over an entire week of deliberation and research (and confusion) was A Wise Old Owl.

My previously chosen poem Howl, was a some what introspective piece reflecting the worldview of the poet and his take on his fellow writers and the city of New York around him. In a similar vein, my chosen rhyme involves the “wise owl” who silently watches and hears; observes the world around him.

Using the motif of an owl’s face throughout all 4 compositions, I hoped to achieve some form of visual consistency using a pop art collage style:

1. Symmetry – I was fairly pleased with the result of the experiment I did in class (during the first Photoshop workshop) which was symmetrical yet abstract and left little negative space in the entire composition.
2. Some semblance of an owl’s face would be shown in the composition – There will be 2 bold circular shapes to represent the relentlessly observing owl and some form of a beak to have to owl’s face subliminally coming out of the composition and exuding a commanding presence.
3. Hands – I wanted to give the illusion that the viewer is interacting with the imposing owl  hence the inclusion of hands at the bottom of the compositions.

Since the first line of the rhyme merely introduced the owl, I attempted to construct the face of the owl with things associated with the bird such as trees, plants and rats (its prey), I tried adding in unexpected elements as well to imply the context of the owl as a silent observer: The laptops to show its connected-ness with modern times, the human evolution to signify its wisdom and age.

The owl is large and popping out of a windowed frame (with a forest outside) to suggest that it is somewhat intruding, with the hands trying to stop the owl.

Compare and contrast to the first composition, the owl is now outside of the window, ominously peeping in at all the men in the “room”. Its eyes are portrayed with with lips this time round to represent the “The more he saw the less he spoke” line. Machinery and the Singapore flyer + skyline and scales are on the top of the owl to once again symbolize its wisdom: the well oiled, crisp mind scape of the owl, how it is a higher being who judges those below it.

In the foreground inside the constructed “room”, I included a dingbat of crucified Christ in nude rising out from an open book with the hands propping the figure out. This person that has nothing to hide from the owl. The Christ figure contrasts with all the suit clad men in the “room” who are fully and formally dressed.

I was a little lost while working on this piece as I hoped to have it not just symbolically but also visually noisy. The mouthpiece of the saxophones lead from the ears out showing that the owl’s act of hearing is louder than actual speech/noisemaking and that this listening gives and is the owl’s freedom to observe and collect information and knowledge.

This is still a work in progress but I hope to include a shrugging man, sort of shrugging along with the question like “why can’t we do just that?” Instead of just showing the hands, I hope that the shrugging man can represent the viewers and inspire them to take after the owl as well.