Hippies rallied against the plastics industry, cultural critics chastised all things “un-natural,” and home and garden magazines pleaded with people to abandon the gnomes, lawn jockeys, and flamingos of yesteryear in favor of classier, more natural yard décor. The 1960s were a decade of backlash against conformity, false experience, and all things Parental-including, evidently, Mom and Dad’s lawn décor. When they first hit stores, the blushing birds cost $2.76 a pair and were an immediate hit in working-class subdivisions from the Redwood Forest to the Gulfstream waters. He created the first pink flamingo lawn ornament, his second assignment, in 1957.Īccording to Smithsonian, he used a National Geographic photospread as a reference, and it "took about two weeks to model both halves of the bird, brought into the third dimension by then-revolutionary injection-mold technology." Featherstone, a sculptor, was hired by Leominster, Mass.-based Union Products to make three-dimensional lawn ornaments. Perhaps not shockingly, the pink flamingo lawn ornament was invented in the same decade that polyester pants, pink washing machines, vinyl wallpaper, and Naugahyde lounge chairs were cool. From the plastic bird's birth to its modern perch atop the pyramid of campy Americana, here’s how the hot pink queen of kitsch won over our hearts (and lawns). Overall: 14 in x 15 1/2 in x 4 in 35.56 cm x 39.37 cm x 10.Today we learned that Don Featherstone, creator of the plastic pink flamingo, died yesterday at the age of 79. Sold by the pair in the millions, today pink flamingos can be found in hardware stores and art museum gift shops alike.ĭon Featherstone’s book, The Original Pink Flamingo: Splendor in the Grass, tracks the much loved yard art from its birth to the cultural phenomenon they became. Over time, the pink flamingo-satirized in popular films and memorialized in university student pranks-evolved from simple lawn ornament, an embodiment of American backyard culture, into one of the best-known icons of American pop-culture kitsch. The styrene models were a lighter pink to begin with and they faded badly over time in the sun.ĭesigned for Union Products by the artist, Don Featherstone, in 1957, the pink, molded-plastic bird added a festive tropical flavor to suburban front and backyards and to urban frontage as well. The generations after were made of polyethelene and are the bright pink (and stable) color with which we associate the birds. The polystyrene became brittle after time, and though the vintage birds are highly valued, they were also inclined to crack, especially around the legs where the stakes, usually metal rods, were installed. The original flamingoes were made of polystyrene, with painted eyes. They have been displayed, but they still have great color. They have the raised plastic eyes that look real as compared to the painted eyes. They each measure about 14" x 8.5" not including the stakes (or metal legs). They were made by the company that bought out Union products, the flamingoes’ original manufacturer. 1980) were made from the original molds with a signature for Featherstone added to the mold. This vintage pair of Don Featherstone models of Pink Flamingos (ca.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |