Everything Under The Sun: Thinking About The Turkeys

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Thinking About The Turkeys

This is Fernando, a turkey who lives at Piebird Farm Sanctuary.

It started when she was volunteering with FARM SANCTUARY in Watkins Glen, NY, which shelters more than 500 rescued farm animals, this interest in turkeys, in a celebration that places turkeys on the dinner plate. Cheryl Miller took note of how this sanctuary for farm animals celebrated its Thanksgiving, not with the turkey as the highlight of the dinner menu, but as an invited guest, sharing in the holiday bounty. She said, of this first of a kind Thanksgiving, "It was so delightful for me to watch the honored guests gather round, cluck, and peck at the offering prepared just for them. It was, without question, one of my favorite and most memorable Thanksgivings since becoming a vegetarian in 1980."

It made an impression on Cheryl, especially when she realized that the turkeys at the sanctuary had their own individual personalities, making each a bit unique. But how do you share that sense with other people? Moreover, how do you spread the idea that Thanksgiving doesn't have to be an occasion on which turkeys occupy a dinner plate?

Since that experience at Farm Sanctuary, Cheryl had taken to celebrating Thanksgiving through her art work, making portraits of beloved turkeys. That new tradition sparked an idea - why not create a virtual way for people to create respectful portraits of turkeys, where some of the uniqueness and personalities of both the artists and the turkeys would be represented? None of those cartoons or joke turkeys were wanted for the project; that would be disrespectful.

So, the 46MILLIONTURKEYS participatory art project, exhibition (at the HARLOW GALLERY in 2013), and web site, was launched. The site represented a virtual Thanksgiving table, with portraits of turkeys contributed, each representing one of the turkeys consumed on Thanksgiving Day, a total of 46 million each year. Those who visit the site would be exposed to education about turkey consumption, along with the individual personalities that are the reality of turkey life. Perhaps, there would even be some deep thought about what consuming a turkey really represents, a unique life lost.

A recent portrait submitted by Caroline A. Locatelli.

That's pretty much what Cheryl envisioned. As she said, "While I cannot personally stop the slaughter of 46 million animals for a holiday tradition, it is my belief, that through this project, I can help influence how people see a holiday, a tradition, and a bird. Wouldn't it be wonderful if 46millionturkeys.com redefined an American holiday tradition!"