Cowbird, a newly launched project by American artist Jonathan Harris, is an online space for select storytellers – photographers, writers, filmmakers, journalists and the likes – to share their tales through image, word and sound...
Who: Cowbird, a newly launched project by American artist Jonathan Harris, is an online space for select storytellers – photographers, writers, filmmakers, journalists and the likes – to share their tales through image, word and sound.
What: The site already contains thousands of diverse stories, which visitors can search through thematically (by keyword) or simply peruse by clicking on an image in the vast photomontage of offerings. In each Cowbird story, a central picture is brought to life by a number of possible accompaniments – namely text, voice recording or music – which can be used individually or together.
This dynamic method of constructing a story gives depth to each separate element and imbues the viewer with a greater understanding of, and emotional attachment to, the whole. For example, a photograph of an Indian man, smilingly mysteriously and wielding his 13-fingered hands, is lit up by the author's audio recording which recounts the mens' brief encounter, whereby the former proudly boasted his ability (with the inclusion of his 12 toes) to count to 25 on his digits. In another story, a woman considers her sister Cecily, on the 10th anniversary of her death, through a beautiful photograph of Cecily staring candidly and directly into the camera, “as if it was just the two of us”. While music is used to great effect in the recollections of a traveller who fondly describes the Georgian family who invited him into their kitchen to join in an evening of singing and dancing. Here we look upon them, captured in full-swing in a black and white image, while a song (perhaps the one they’re singing) plays in the background, bringing further warmth to the scene.
"Cowbird begs contemplation and allows for a more creative and intimate way of sharing experiences"
Why: The project is a brilliant remedy to the internet's fast, often thoughtless content; it begs contemplation and allows for a more creative and intimate way of sharing experiences. Harris explained to AnOther, "I have three main goals for Cowbird. The first is to create a space for a deeper, more substantive and longer-lasting kind of self-expression than you're likely to find anywhere else on the Web. The second is to pioneer a new form of participatory journalism, grounded in the simple human stories behind major news events and universal themes. The third is to build a public library of human experience, so the knowledge and wisdom we accumulate as individuals may live on as part of the commons."
Request an invitation to join Cowbird here.
Text by Daisy Woodward
