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All of these objects can be grouped together under the general heading "birds," yet simultaneously represent a wide variety of different categories. The abstracted bird mask, for example suggests Native American culture, artifice, and religious ritual to the viewer. The Hondecoeter painting is also an example of artifice and is in itself a collection of birds, realistically rendered in the European tradition. The pelican specimen can be seen as a emblem of the biological sciences, as well as an example of local nature. The ubiquitous presence of birds in this world, and in the various departments of the university, suggests not only that the same type of object can be meaningful in a number of different contexts, but that it draws its meaning from its context. Within this exhibition, the varied use of birds serves to illustrate the essential permeability and fluidity of categories and associations.
