Chickens Dressed Like Napoleon, Einstein and Other Historical Figures
They came, they clucked and they conquered. Get the story behind these absurd portraits and how they came to be
- By Megan Gambino
- Smithsonian.com, May 18, 2012
(Timothy Archibald)
“I think that sometimes when you get an idea that seems so far-fetched, you can kind of approach it with this freedom, because you don’t really think it is going to work out,” says Archibald. “That’s what this was.”
The assignment certainly fell within the photographer’s repertoire. Clients often hire Archibald to breathe fresh air into mundane objects or to somehow ground bizarre ones in the familiar. He calls his work humorous and, at times, subversive.
“I knew that he could take this for the humor,” says Roberts, “and not be heavy-handed with it, but handle it seriously, so that it was more funny.”
Archibald was skeptical—but game. His longtime stylist, Shannon Amos, who does props and wardrobe for his shoots, put him at ease. “She was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s no problem. I’ll hire a seamstress and get these things made to the chickens’ size. It shouldn’t be a problem at all,’ ” he says. “She treated this as if it was the most traditional assignment that has ever been.”
Comments (9)
to the vegans. how can you really know these chickens didn't die from natural causes?
Posted by asfsd on August 21,2012 | 01:42 AM
I guess I don't get the comedy - or the relevance. These figures have nothing (so far as I know) to do with the history of chicken consumption. This is just in poor taste - more Daily News than Smithsonian. If you need more support, produce valuable content, not clickbait.
Posted by Ben on July 6,2012 | 04:17 PM
To the humorless vegan and Mr. I'm-ashamed-of-you: This trivial article comes under the category of "playing with your food" not "mutilation of the honored dead". Find something important to complain about. Sheesh.
Posted by Jeff Grossman on June 26,2012 | 12:10 PM
I love Smithsonian magazine- I grew up with it!- but have to tell you how shockingly offensive is this series of photographs. Would you make fun and amuse yourself with skinned wolf carcus or a racoon body? Would you do it with a dead plucked heron or a dead frog? No, because it offends our basic sense of respecting dead bodies of any species, by not making fun of them. So why do you think its OK to amuse yourself with a dead chicken body? For the first time, I'm ashamed of you, Smithsonian.
Posted by Helia on June 14,2012 | 09:29 PM
This is fabulous! Bravo for your ingenuity and creativity. Its good to know the Smithsonian hasn't completely succumbed to the PC whiners.
Posted by Coronel Sanders on June 7,2012 | 01:44 PM
This isn't really clever. It's downright tasteless and an insult to any vegan or animal advocate who reads your magazine. I recall that in the not so distant past, Smithsonian was simply boring. Now it's decided to become downright offensive.
Posted by george shea on June 2,2012 | 12:21 PM
sigh...I clicked on the headline because I thought they were going to be LIVE chickens!
Posted by Carolyn on May 24,2012 | 05:21 PM
Dare we call these photos "shutter clickin' good"? LOL!
Posted by Odyssey8 on May 22,2012 | 02:03 PM
Very interesting approach to animals and theatricality. Is there a Smithsonian cookbook in the works? SS
Posted by sondra on May 22,2012 | 01:10 PM