Rhody Maker: Artists Ana Flores and John Kotula Found Pandemic Creativity in Fowl Play

Rhode Island Month-to-month: Might you each share how the thought for Fowlplay got here to be? What’s the importance of the chickens?

Ana Flores: Throughout the darkest days of the pandemic, we have been all so careworn, so unhappy and targeted on the grim information that I felt that I’d break. So I made a decision to do one thing that made me smile on a regular basis. Making paper mache chickens was a type of issues. I had made chickens earlier than; I’m from Cuba and chickens have been a part of my cultural mythology. I knew John Kotula had lived in Honduras and Nicaragua as a Peace Corps employee and his work usually included chickens. So sooner or later we had espresso and we determined it might be a great stress reliever for us to do chickens and maybe have a present sooner or later. Then John instructed a Fb web page for us, and I instructed or not it’s open to whoever wished so as to add in. Each of us have at all times executed quite a lot of group artwork initiatives, so it appeared pure to make it larger than us. So Fowl Play, INK began on Fb.

A patron with a Flores paper mache rooster. (By way of Ana Flores)

My curiosity in chickens started, for me, after I was a child in Cuba. My favourite TV cartoon was Foghorn Leghorn, by Looney Tunes. I believed rooster conduct gave me an perception into the grownup conduct round me. And I additionally made a connection between Foghorn Leghorn, the large humorous rooster, and the opposite rooster wearing inexperienced fatigues who saved giving infinite speeches on the opposite TV channel; his title was Fidel Castro. We left the island due to Fidel.

It took me forty years to return and that first journey again, in 2002, made a profound impression. I created a big set up based mostly on the journey that was referred to as “Cuba Journal.” The Cuban paper chickens have been a part of that touring challenge as a response to the chickens I noticed in every single place. After the Russians left the island in 1991 there was a horrible meals shortage and Cubans needed to study to farm once more, rising what they might and breeding animals and chickens even within the cities. I noticed chickens on city balconies, on the roofs of constructing within the cities, on leashes within the streets. And the rooster metaphor grew to become an ideal parallel for Latin American dictators who rule the roost for too lengthy.

“Rocking Rooster for Latin American Dictator,” 2008, in a personal assortment. (By way of Ana Flores)

John Kotula: Ana Flores and I’ve been buddies for a very long time and, in my view, she is among the greatest artists in Rhode Island. Nevertheless, we don’t sometimes keep in shut contact. So, I used to be delighted to get a name from her out of the blue. As I recollect it she mentioned, “John, these are onerous occasions. I have to get extra enjoyable in my life! Let’s do a challenge along with the aim of simply having a great time.” Effectively, she had me at, “John…” One or the opposite of us mentioned, “You do chickens and I do chickens, let’s do chickens!” Then later, one or the opposite of us mentioned, “These are occasions during which everybody wants their spirits lifted, let’s see how many individuals we are able to get entangled.” I feel I instructed a Fb group as a approach of gathering a group of individuals to have a great time sharing every part rooster. I feel Ana mentioned, “However we’re completely critical artists and we don’t need to lose observe of that, proper?” And we have been off and operating.

Rhode Island Month-to-month: How has the response been to Fowl Play, INK?

AF: We’ve been delighted by the Fb group Fowlplay, INK and “all issues rooster” that individuals share. And naturally the comedian aid all of us discover in them; I feel we see ourselves in them. Sooner or later we wish to see some sort of Fowlplay Pageant with the group however that’s definitely on pause as a result of we’re removed from being executed with this pandemic. I’m additionally pondering that possibly we’d like a marketing campaign to do large chickens throughout the state, like so many locations have executed whales and cows as public artwork. The rooster is our official state chicken, in spite of everything, and we do have the well-known Rhode Island Pink rooster breed to thank as being our perennial worldwide ambassador. Think about an enormous colourful rooster in entrance of your city corridor or in our public squares?

Kotula in a rooster masks throughout his cross-country journey. (By way of John Kotula)

Rhode Island Month-to-month: Might you each inform us about your creative apply exterior of Fowlplay?

AF: I’m an ecological artist, which signifies that I’m very targeted on a multi-disciplinary understanding of locations the place I’m referred to as to work. I research the pure historical past, geography and cultural historical past. A brand new present of mine has simply opened on the Lyman Allyn Museum in regards to the affect of the forest I reside in. That present is known as “Forest Dreaming”; it’ll be up until late October. There aren’t any chickens in it however making the paper mache chickens did assist me as I completed up the bronze and aluminum sculptures for the present. Steel work is sluggish, onerous work, and dealing in paper mache was a great counterpoint. I discovered doing an hour or two of paper mache was therapeutic and joyful, and the individuals who have been commissioning them have been actually having fun with them.

However the chickens did start to take over the studio and the opposite critical work so now they’ve their very own model; it’s referred to as the Splendid Hen, you could find out extra on Instagram @thesplendidhen. A web site is coming quickly. The Splendid Hen shall be on the RISD Alumni Craft Present on October ninth; I’ll have a clutch of recent paper mache chickens, prints and T-shirts. I’m trying ahead to that.

An assortment of Flores’s paper mache chickens. (By way of Ana Flores)