Throughout recorded history birds have captivated humans with their spectacular colors, shapes and patterns, their ethereal qualities of graceful flight and song, and for their serene stillness as much as their predatory instincts. In the avian prints, the artists portray various species of birds in different pictorial styles in which they emphasized the many timeless characteristics we associate with birds. The prints are executed in woodcut, silkscreen, intaglio, lithography, and relief stencil techniques. The artists represented are Leonard Baskin, Glen Alps, Louis Bunce, Michael Spafford, Dorr Bothwell, Kananaginak Pootoogook, Charles Lapicque, Imao Keinen, and Jacques Hnizdovsky. For centuries the indigenous people of the Brazilian rain forests have created a distinctive art form in which they transform feathers into metaphors that represent the myths, spirit, and energy of birds.
Feather art plays a prominent role in their ceremonial rituals and festivals.
The most respected artists within each indigenous group create the most significant pieces. The artist's purpose is to make an object that is beautiful, pleases the people and especially the spirits. However, beauty is not a competitive attribute as it is in Western civilization. To these people, the ideals of beauty and adornment are related to their view of themselves as social beings. A sense of oneness is transmitted within the group when they wear their finest featherworks.