By: Brendan Sipes

Artist statement script: Hello, I am Brendan Sipes, and I recreated the Parrot Pergamon mosaic. To create this piece, I used construction paper, scissors, a pencil, and a glue stick. The purpose of this work was to replicate the original parrot mosaic but add my own style and process to the piece. I am definitely not as talented as the original artist and aren’t as skilled at creating complex mosaics, but my process was to simplify the mosaic to my skill level and create a recognizable recreation of the original mosaic. One of the main symbolisms of this mosaic is the parrot symbolizing Alexander the Great. The parrot species (Alexandrine parakeet) depicted in the mosaic was named after Alexander the Great and were often owned by wealthy families. The biggest influence on how I created my mosaic was the resources I had at my house. I didn’t have too many different artistic materials in my house to work with, but I did have an abundance of construction paper, so I created my style and plan around my resources.

Audio clip – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM2sOfUSjQY

I chose this jungle sound to further experience my artwork because of its soothing tone and the sounds of different birds and nature in the background. When I look at the parrot mosaic, I always feel like I am hiking in a big, tropical rain forest and can see and hear all of the different birds and animals. I thought these jungle sounds perfectly resembled what I imagine hearing when observing the mosaic and really made me feel like I was actually in nature watching and experiencing all of the different birds and animals moving about in their natural habitats.

Discussion Questions:

1. Looking back, I defiantly would have done things differently to create my mosaic. Do others feel the same way?
2. What aspects of the mosaics did you try to accurately represent in your work, and what aspects did you change?
3. What were the most challenging parts of creating your mosaics?