Title

Golden owls [by Murray Griffin].

Author

Bunbury, Alisa.

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

1998

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Golden owls.

Although Griffin had always enjoyed experimenting with textures and stylization of the birds, it was not until the post-war period that he really began altering the birds to suit his design requirements, most evidently in this work with the exaggeration of the outstretched wing. Both wings are used as backdrops for the lighter heads which radiate from the sheet. The background has become totally abstracted, in a manner that resembles later Journey prints, and the birds stand on an amorphous swirling mass. Despite these elements, the birds are clearly Grass owls, which have noticeably longer legs and beaks than many owls.

© Alisa Bunbury, 1998.