When a murder was reported in my hometown of Nampa, Idaho, I was shocked, confused, and deeply concerned. Newspaper headlines described the unusual event as an invasion. I discovered that a major convention of crows had arrived, roosting in town, and were hanging out nightly on public streets and parking lots in large raucous groups. No one could tell me why. Were they tourists traveling through seeking thrills, extras from a movie set, immigrants seeking asylum, or what!
On my walk, I was confronted by a citizen who complained that the sidewalks and cars were covered with bird droppings creating a disgusting mess. I realized that for this person, the crows' arrival was discomforting, inconvenient, inappropriate, and verging on a criminal conspiracy! I did not foresee that this phenomenon would be the seed of my art project.
Later, I learned that a group of crows was known as a murder, and their presence could be viewed as welcoming or objectionable, reflecting the polarized viewpoints on how society reacts and thinks of the natural world. These perceptions reflect deep-seated conscious and unconscious feelings and emotions imprinted and influenced by culture, religion, myths, science, and superstition, all abundantly narrated in folklore and history..
