A couple of days ago we reported that Maryann’s female statue that is shown in the first episode of Season 2 and triggers Sam’s memory, is a replica of “The Bird Lady” figurines that are part of the Egyptian collection of The Brooklyn Museum.
The museum was thrilled to discover this and asked HBO how their statue ended up on True Blood. Production designer Suzuki Ingerslev answered their questions.
How True Blood found the “Bird Lady”
The script for Episode 1 of Season 2 called for “a primitive piece of art; like a dancing girl” to be placed on the character Maryann’s coffee table. Suzuki and Cat Smith, Art Director, went to Google to look for images that fit these requirements, hoping to find something that inspired them. They looked at many different types of ancient images including Mycenaean, Etruscan, and Minoan examples. Entering search terms something like “Egyptian female statues,” they came across our very own “Bird Lady.” They printed out a selection of appropriate images and presented them to Alan Ball, the show’s creator.
He was immediately drawn to the “Bird Lady,” seeing something so elegant, beautiful and perfect in her form that she became the obvious choice. As Suzuki pointed out, though she is not the first to do so, this ancient figure looks both modern and primitive at the same time. In terms of the show, she said using it helped to emphasize that Maryann’s character is timeless.
We also found it interesting that Suzuki said they looked at a lot of Egyptian images and chose this one precisely because it is not a “typical” ancient Egyptian representation. This was precisely the thinking behind curator James F. Romano’s choice of the “Bird Lady” as the signature image for the reinstalled Egyptian galleries, which opened in April 2003. As usual, he wanted to get people to stop, look and think twice.
HBO’s version of “Bird Lady” made for the series True Blood by artist Cindy Jackson from a mold she created and casting plaster. Images courtesy Suzuki Ingerslev.
How True Blood created their “Bird Lady”
As part of Alan Ball’s vision for the show, which involves going the distance to add a level of authenticity, an artist was hired to make a version of the “Bird Lady” based on renderings off the web. Cindy Jackson made three statues in case one got broken during filming. Suzuki wanted a base that let the figure float and emphasized its sense of movement. So the artist drilled a rod into the bottom of the statue that connects to a flat base. We explained that we obviously couldn’t do that to a 5,500 year old object but we do have a special mount that safely produces the same floating effect.
Lastly, a few final bits of “Bird Lady” and True Blood trivia.
One of the characters refers to the statue as “Mycenean or something.” Maryann intentionally raises her arms in the same pose during the episode; this gesture was directly inspired by the choice of the “Bird Lady” for the statue. And yes, the “Bird Lady” can be read as a clue to Maryann’s eternal nature, but no, there is not necessarily any further connection.
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If the venerable Brooklyn Museum was thrilled about their ‘Bird Lady’ appearing on the show; then the British Museum should also be happy, as one of their Elgin Marbles (also known as the Parthenon Marbles) is also featured prominently in Maryann’s living room. The piece is the famous equestrian head of the Goddess Selene’s lead horse. Selene was the Goddess of the Moon. Her Latin name was Luna.
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cocoablossoms Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 23:34
awesome art history knowledge. i foresee true blood facts as a future jeopardy category. i’m studying now.
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A chum recommended me to look at this post, great post, fanstatic read… keep up the nice work!
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