House of Roosters

Size: 24" x 16.3"
Medium: Pigment Print
Date: 2017
Edition Size: 75
Hand Touched: N/A

This statement print celebrates 2017, the year of the rooster. It is to be remembered that no home that wishes to welcome good luck into it is complete without a rooster.
The image depicts a tale of a man seen in the center of the composition. He is a visitor, greeted by eight sociable roosters who proudly announce their names; Courage, Optimism, Energetic, Prosperity, Productivity, Good Luck, Honesty, and Watchfulness.
The man asks one question to the roosters, “What determines the strength of this house?”
The roosters offered a practical response, “The pillars reinforce the house and represent the collective resources necessary for our success, and the windows give us vantage points and serve as a post for each of us.” The roosters expressing loyalty, explain further “Our general gives each of us our own position to stand, so that we can grow into leaders and work together to support this house.”
The visitor calmly shared his thoughts, “So I see that community leadership in the house of roosters is valued above the efforts of one great leader.”
The golden rooster leads by example, and maintains a position high above the mountains, in order that the other roosters remain in their spot. The large golden rooster is from Nuremberg sourced from a black and white coat of arms engraving dated 1502.
The composition includes a variety of roosters, each with a different talent necessary for success. Four identical roosters are flanked on each side of the house, starting from the outermost post in first position is a sculpture of a Spanish rooster. In second position is a Chinese rooster in ink from the Ming dynasty. In third position is a rooster in the medium of a drypoint etching from America, while in fourth position stands an engraving of a rooster from Germany.
The idealized mountain landscape inside the dome at the top comes from a 20th century Chinese painting. The building in the composition is sourced from an 18th century French engraving.
The overall color scheme for this statement print is green and gold, inspired by the historic decorative design created by James Whistler for the famous “Peacock Room.” The Peacock Room, designed as a grand dining room, mandated a display of chinese pottery to be housed on shelves with green walls. Notably, there were gilded gold peacocks overlaid on the green wall throughout the room. This was designed for a house in London. The house was later purchased by an American investor and the peacock room, in its entirety, was disassembled and shipped to America to be put back together in its original state. It can be viewed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.