Ravens

Ravens Are One Of The Few Bird Species That Do Not Migrate South In The Winter, by Michio Hoshino

When we went to the Museum of the North, it took a while for me to find something I felt like writing about. The Place to Go Listen was interesting, but I don't think I could have really been able to appreciate its atmosphere with it being as crowded as it was that day. And I felt that the natural history exhibits didn't quite lend themselves to this particular assignment. 

I was recommended beforehand to look for pieces by Hoshino, and when I finally found them I wasn't disappointed. All of his photographs were wonderful, but one in particular that caught my eye was the piece entitled "Ravens Are One Of The Few Bird Species That Do Not Migrate South In The Winter". I liked this photograph, appreciating the soft, quiet, contemplative atmosphere of the ravens patiently sitting out a snowfall. I like to think there is something like a narrative embedded in this image. But I wouldn't use the term "embedded narrative" to describe the meaning this image might have. Rather, I think the artist responsible understood that any unaltered image of nature will take on different meaning, depending on who views it. I believe this is why he chose such an odd name for this piece - it's an invitation for the viewer to contemplate it freely, and appreciate it as one would appreciate any one of nature's sights. That, I think, might be one of the major themes in all of Hoshino's work: an invitation to the audience to experience the beauty and power of nature, as he did on his many excursions into the wilds of Alaska. 

When I look at this photograph, I see a group of ravens hanging out on some broken trees, and I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I see a raven, I get the impression of a bird with a very lofty opinion of itself, an opinion perhaps not entirely unwarranted. These ravens in the picture are no different; they exhibit an air of indifference to the winter cold, and are proud of their toughness and their cleverness required to survive in the winter. They've been through many winters before, and this one's no different. They seem to be very pragmatic about their situation - uncomplaining, their crafty scavengers minds are confident that there will always be freebies to be had, even though they may be few and far between during this time of year, and they are willing to sit around and wait -  always confident that their fabled intelligence and ingenuity will see them through again and again.