Feathered friends flock high to lit up sky

New York / DPA

Duke Riley was just a child when he rescued an injured pigeon, taking care of it until it was ready to fly away again.But then the bird came back.Now, many years later, the experience has motivated the Boston artist to use a huge flock of pigeons in a piece of performance art high in the New York skies every weekend until mid-June.
“Pigeons have been domesticated for thousands of years,” the heavily tattooed 43-year-old tells us.Indeed, few animals have such a strong connection with humans as pigeons, which were first domesticated in 4500 BC and used as messengers, both in times of war and peace.
Riley thinks of them as “noble” and “inspiring”— words which probably wouldn’t be the first that inhabitants of London, Rome or New York would use to describe pigeons.
Since pigeon droppings can cause illness and the birds can carry pests, the image of these soft grey, cooing birds has been transformed in many big cities to that of “flying rats.”But Riley says they make him “appreciate the nature within our urban environments – something busy New Yorkers often need to be reminded of.”
As evening falls at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, he releases 2,000 birds into the air from the deck of the decommissioned Baylander ship, which dates back to the Vietnam War.
At his whistle, the pigeons come out of their cages and within minutes the air is filled with them, wheeling and circling, forming patterns for 30 minutes.With the help of tiny LEDs strapped to their legs, the birds leave streaks of light in the evening sky.Despite months of preparation, Riley can never predict exactly what the show will look like.
“They fly different each night, it depends on the winds, the tides and their mood,” says Katie Hollander, director of the organisation Creative Time which made this artwork — free for the public — possible.
In practice flights, some of the birds have also taken to landing on a nearby crane.“With their lights it looks like a Christmas tree,” she says.Then comes what Hollander calls the “dinner bell:” a piece of music that Riley has chosen as the signal to the birds to come back.
Using flags which spell out the performance’s name, Fly By Night, in the maritime alphabet, the flock is guided back to the ship.Riley hopes the spectacle will encourage people to change their view of pigeons.He’s lived in New York for 20 years and has decided he wants to give something back to the city.
Up until now his projects have been more reminiscent of guerrilla art, bordering on the illegal.In 2007 he constructed a round vessel almost entirely of wood, a replica of what was thought to be the United States’ first submarine.
Called the Turtle, it was said to have sunk a ship in New York harbour in the War of Independence.Riley was arrested when he sailed his “submarine” up to the cruise ship Queen Mary 2, then anchored in New York, in what he said was a metaphorical attack on the British monarchy in the 21st century.
In 2009 he staged a mock Roman naval battle in a park fountain, with boats built from recycled materials and costumed crews and audience members throwing tomatoes at each other. I have “no idea exactly what’s going to go on,” Riley admits before the spectacle, fuelled by free beer and wine, takes off.
As always, the behaviour of the pigeons can’t be predicted before the performance. But that doesn’t matter to Riley, who’s been dreaming about this project for years.“I also want to provide people a moment of space where they stop and take the time to absorb the environment around them, and appreciate the flora and fauna they share the city with,” he says.