The only good pigeon is a dead pigeon
Denver Post, The (CO) - August 12, 2005
Author: Kyle MacMillan ; Denver Post Fine Arts Critic

OK, I admit it. I'm not a big fan of pigeons. In fact, I've even had a fantasy or two that involves grabbing a shotgun and sending a few of the nasty varmints to meet their maker.

Well, it turns out that I'm not alone.

Quite a few other people have a less-than-kind attitude toward pigeons, including A.V. Jones of New York City (where else?), who bills himself as the founder and president of PUTP (People for the Unethical Treatment of Pigeons.)

Indeed, Jones felt so strongly about the birds that he put together a book titled "Canceled Flight: 101 Tried and True Pigeon Killin' Methods," which was recently published by Throckmorton Press.

"Between background checks, costly permits, unsympathetic law enforcement and uppity neighbors, a good old Smith & Wesson just isn't the tool it used to be," writes Jones in the book's foreword.

"We simply have to be smarter. More cunning. More creative. And more resourceful than our foe."

He and editor Joel Barnard picked 85 artists from across the United States as well as such countries as Japan, England and France to provide the illustrations for the book. Jones supplied the rest.

Barnard assembled a selection of 88 of the 101 original works reproduced in the volume, including paintings, drawings, collages and photographs, into a exhibition that is concluding its national tour at the Andenken Gallery.

It traveled earlier this year to the Reed Space Gallery in New York City, Receiver Gallery in San Francisco and Lab 101 Gallery in Los Angeles - heady company for this still-emerging art space in Denver's Ballpark District.

Before I go any further, I probably need to stop and offer a disclaimer or two before I get dozens of letters and e-mails from PETA members and angry picketers showing up in front of the Post.

As astute readers have already figured out, all of this is a JOKE. Yes, some of the images are a tad violent, but these artists are just having a little fun at the expense of the pathetic pigeon, which certainly is not above such treatment.

Given that, it should come as little surprise that few if any of these artworks are complex, highly involved pieces that will change the course of art history or are destined for museum walls. They weren't meant to be.

But these are skillful, clever, and wonderfully entertaining small pieces influenced by past and present pop art, anime and counter-culture comic books, plus all matter of pop culture in general.

Many of the participants - including some with names such as JUNKYKID, Luke Insect and Billy Blob - are probably best described as underground artists whose work is likelier to be found on in-the-know websites and in alternative publications.

A few highlights of the show:

"The Fish Story," Brendan Monroe. This well-rendered painting, with its surprisingly nuanced use of color, depicts a group of menacing alligators ready to chomp on the you-know-what strung onto the end of a fishing line.

"The Ozzy," Shamona Stokes. In this humorous painting, the artist wonders if rock star Ozzy Osbourne's notorious fondness for biting off the heads of bats might not transfer to certain other winged creatures as well.

"The Man's Best Friend," Elizabeth Victoria Knowles. Although it does not look all that menacing, this caricatured pit bull with its oversized head doesn't think twice about engulfing any pigeon that might cross its path.

"The Diet Plan," Rik Catlow. The intricate craftsmanship of this retro collage on found sheet metal stands in contrast to the simplicity of the killing method it espouses involving super glue.

Remember, the only good pigeon is a dead pigeon.

Just kidding! Just kidding!

Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@

denverpost.com.