Files
Download Full Text (1.3 MB)
Preview
![image preview](https://digital.kenyon.edu/zhoudocs/1018/preview.jpg)
Date
1995
Format
Artist Notes
Rights Holder
Zhou Yan Contemporary Chinese Art Archive
Materials
Metal net, a live bird (a sparrow would be the best), a string, a few books about Ornithology 铁丝网罩、一只活鸟(最好是麻雀)、线绳、鸟类学的书
Description
The inspiration of "Bird Trap" is from the artist's childhood experience of bird catching. Instead of bird food, ZHAN Wang put books about Ornithology that symbolizes “culture” underneath the bird trap. According to the artist, “culture” brings humans wisdom and emotions, but it is also a metaphysical deception. A bird was placed on the other side of the string outside of the trap, where a person is supposedly at. The angle between the bird trap and the ground was intentionally designed to be 45-degrees, which creates a sense of balance that neither humans nor animals can break through.
![](https://digital.kenyon.edu/zhoudocs/1018/thumbnail.jpg)