Bird Brain (2009) — Anna Lindemann

Excerpts from Bird Brain

Bird Brain (2009) 30'

A multimedia work for live instrumentalists with electronic music accompaniment and animation

Media | stop motion animation, computer animation, video, music for live musicians and electronics

Premiere | April 17, 2009, Sudler Hall at Yale University, New Haven

In a rice forest, a male bird builds an impressive bower of butterflies to attract a mate, while a female bird tends to her nest atop a kitchen stove. We see glimpses into the biology of these creatures as butterfly wings develop and pasta mitosis animates the growth of the incubating egg. Animation, stop motion, and live action film tell the tale of these birds, and live musicians and electronic music unite in songs of penne chromosomes and funky avant-garde jungle rhythms. But what will become of the birds when humans parasitize their world to make outlandish hats? A tale of life and development, death and transfiguration.