Art for Science's Sake: Stalking John James Audubon

Ten years ago, Dr. Leigh Anne Howard, Chair of the Communication and Media Department, and Dr. Dave Black, Associate Professor Emeritus of Radio and Television, started an ornithological odyssey to learn more about the 19th century naturalist John James Audubon, best known for his mammoth book, The Birds of America. They traveled throughout Scotland, Louisiana, New York, California, Chicago, Indiana, and Kentucky to interview a variety of Audubon experts about the naturalist's contributions to the study of birds through his art. Art For Science’s Sake: Stalking John James Audubon, is a full-length documentary revealing what they discovered about how art and science intersected to create Audubon’s monumental work.

John James Audubon set out to draw in detail as many North American birds as possible and to record information about those birds in his journals. First published in 1827, Audubon’s The Birds of America is a giant four-volume work of 435 color plates presenting perhaps the greatest documentation of birds yet produced. His work initiated a new standard of realism to ornithological depictions. Unlike other naturalists of his time, Audubon painted and published life-size drawing of birds, depicting them in their natural habitats while they engaged in natural behaviors: eating, hunting, feeding their young, flying, socializing. Audubon, in partnership with Scottish ornithologist William MacGillivray, also created the five-volume Ornithological Biography documenting bird behavior and physiology.

Audubon was a controversial figure in his era--some of his works have been challenged for their authenticity--and remains controversial today as his ownership of slaves and the contemporary controversies about scientific and organizational nomenclature have made his place in history more closely examined. The video is produced by Dr. Howard and Dr. Black through the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Southern Indiana.

Art for Science's Sake: Stalking John James Audubon won the award for Best Hoosier-made Film at the Victory International Film Festival in Evansville, Indiana, in September 2023.