Starling and the Tattoo
by Tony Fitzpatrick
Mixed Media
The day I got my first tattoo, I learned a lesson in writing and looking at art. I’d learned a technique at a workshop with writing teacher, Pricilla Long, for writing with authenticity by creating a lexicon of specificity before typing a first sentence. Following her recommendation, I began creating and keeping lexicons from different situations. With that in mind, as I chatted up the artist applying my Celtic knot, I asked him the correct name for the machine he used for tattooing. He said, “it’s called a tattoo machine.”
With that memory called to mind, I descended to the lower level of Great Lakes Tattoo Shop, to see Songbirds and Crucifixions, an exhibit of twenty mixed media collages by Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick. The show opened October 6th 2025; sadly Fitzpatrick passed away from a heart attack six days later. The official obituary creates a picture of a man with extraordinary productive creativity: poet, actor, published author, gallery owner, musician, playwright, radio host, newspaper columnist, printmaker, and painter. His work is found in the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum to name a few. His work is in collections owned by Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, Martin Scorsese, and others. Posts on social media show a prolific, kind, engaging person whose artwork is on album covers, wine, beer and hard cider bottles, tattoos, and book covers. His fascination and dedication to birds is a frequent focus. His t-shirt designs helped fund Chicago Bird (high-rise) Collision Monitors.
A dog features in three of the works in the show, one or more birds center all the others. I zero in on a work with a starling, a song bird with a target on its breast. This piece includes elements recurring in others: a faux postage cancel stamp with Fitzpatrick’s place and date of birth - Chicago, Nov. 24, 1958; a Chiquita banana sticker; pieces of a Chicago map; matchbook cover from a local restaurant; umbrellas; S&H Green -Trading Stamps used until the late eighties; musical notes; half-moons or fans, in this case in black and white; greenery; and his signature, T.F. inside a red hand-drawn oval, and a date. On a white background, a graph supports the entire image, as if the artist envisioned a running stitch in black sewn from top to bottom, side to side, inside a thin red raised border, which cuts in at each corner to allow for collage elements, primarily cancelled US postage stamps, to appear “outside the box.”
Unique to this collage is the specific year, 1987, when Fitzpatrick was 29 years old. A record rainfall, the wettest in Chicago history fell that summer. The umbrella elements would be useful, but not much help against the floods and chaos it caused. Small circles in red, gray, yellow, and blue act as points on the graph, but more likely, as Chicagoans often point out, Chicago is easy to get around, it’s laid out on a grid; perhaps each circle is a point on that Chicago grid. Two Chicago map pieces name areas where at least one of his studios was located, are up against a cancelled stamp commemorating poet Carl Sandburg, perhaps an homage to Sandburg who shared Fitzpatrick’s reputation for connecting with many strands of life and a deep respect for Chicago. A globe offers a clue that there’s a bigger world. A repeat of the American flag in cancelled postage stamps and in elements entering the bottom and as if people are falling from beneath, it at the top. A hand-drawn red bridge behind it, ending somewhere on the grid, or leading out of the picture. Chicago is central, there are people entering with cover from the flag, or from over the bridge.
Starlings, the most prominent element of the collage, are social creatures, with loud calls and massive flocks that fly in hypnotic murmuration. Their noise, corrosive droppings, and damage to crops target them for vilification. This starling in this collage stands bold, an orange halo around its head, its eye looks directly at the viewer, depicting its dignity and disdain even as it sings on. The starling is a starling, is anyone vilified. Fitzpatrick donated his art and name to causes for birds and for underserved people. However, there is another side to starlings. They are considered an invasive species which aggressively compete with natives for food and nesting sites. This collage was created recently, perhaps, Fitzpatrick suggests that there is goodness in those who are vilified, much as aggressive immigrants are alleged to compete for jobs, food, and housing.
Describing this collage is a lot like the lesson of the name of the tattoo machine. Each element is exactly what it looks like. Within the frame, in juxtaposition to the central character, to the items near it, and to the whole, it is so much more.
Our art studios, whether a back hallway, basement, attic, or rented space accumulate art works, art supplies and equipment. It comes with the territory. It's a fact. At some point we need to clean our studios, reduce the amount of materials, and in some cases, with various life changes, we need to close them for good. A recent blog post here, includes an article you might find useful, What to Do With Your Studio Before You Kick the Bucket. Which focuses on artists thinking about closing their studios for good.
On April 6, with the Chicago Pastel Painters, we explored the topic with a broader focus, Your Studio: Downsizing, Spring Cleaning or Posterity Here are the slides from that presentation. Slides are copyrighted and the property of Mary Longe. Info is for personal use only, not to be presented in any other form, format or setting.
Let me know, by leaving a message in the comments, if you'd like this presentation made to your artist group.
Other Topics for Presentation include:
What to Do With Your Studio Before You Kick the Bucket
How to Navigate the Art Marketplace: From Easel to Auction
Mary Longe holds a Certificate in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art, London. She is the former Executive Director of Plein Air Painters Chicago, as well as author of various articles on art business practices. Longe is an artist, focusing on painting and collage.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-nGczLPznve3m6OoGoRTUTUZWdd82sKo/view?usp=sharing#mce_temp_url#
Here are links to online gift shops in art and a few other museums in the U.S. and around the world. Most of them will ask for your email as you enter the store, while annoying, the upside is typically a minimum 10% discount. Shopping these stores, offers unique items, supports the institutions and avoids shopping the big box, Amazon and Walmart options.
US Museum Gift Shops
Art Institute of Chicago SHOP Hometown favorite. Wide selection. Huge book publisher and store.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA – Cha May Ching Museum Boutique SHOP
Barnes, Philadelphia, PA SHOP Cool exclusive mugs.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR SHOP
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art – The Momentary, Bentonville, AR - Contemporary SHOP
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, SHOP
Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, Detroit, MI – SHOP Gallery on demand. Exhibits and Detroit related.
Driehaus Museum – Chicago SHOP
Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA SHOP Contemporary Art experimenting in new materials and media. Fabrics and items made with fabrics created by Artists in Residence and Guest Artists, Highly unique offerings.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco SHOP de Young/Legion of Honor Museum Stores Ansel Adams isn’t in the house, but gifts and books related to his photos are. American and Indigenous craft too. Art on demand.
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, SHOP Frye Store
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA SHOP Blown away by the quantity and quality. Feminist selection – wow! Basquiat skateboard decks!
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA SHOP So much garden-related.
John Michael Kohler Art Museum/Art Preserve, Sheboygan, WI SHOP
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY SHOP Always a leader in art oriented gifts.
Milwaukee Art, Milwaukee, WI SHOP Smallish offering but great curation by buyers.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL SHOP
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX SHOP Unique selection.
Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, PA SHOP Historical merch.
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY - SHOP Owls, and Wolves and Bears, oh my!
Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL SHOP Different cool Miami and outsider art vibe.
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, WA SHOP Reflects these and the Seattle Art Gallery. Northwest, contemporary, unique offerings. The gallery offers rentals as well as on demand.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. SHOP Includes links to the National Portrait Gallery – The Obama portraits and a gazillion more, The American Art Museum - Gifts of Americana, and the Renrick Gallery with moderns.
Smithsonian’s Hirschhorn Museum – Contemporary, Washington, DC SHOP So colorful! Love the vases and busts.
The Getty, Los Angeles SHOP Some unique items with an LA sensibility.
Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN SHOP Exclusives are unique.
UK Museums
British Museum SHOP Colonialism is this shop’s biggest blot. One can’t be here long without realizing that many of the items in this institution may have been acquired by some nefarious tactics. At the same time, where else can you see in minutes the very items from Japan, Africa and other far places that influenced Van Gogh, Picasso and so many others. The shop has many replicas of iconic items, and silk scarves. ties, and more.
Design Museum SHOP Probably the most unique of shops I’ve come across. Butter knife and coffee measure whittling kits, Saris, and a Yinka Ilori Orun designer basketball. Actually, this shop tempted my wallet more than most.
National Gallery SHOP 10% off coupon available when linking into the site. London Skyline Chess set – so cool.
National Portrait Gallery SHOP The Scarves! Paul McCartney, David Hackney After being closed the NPG has a brand new shop too.
Serpentine Galleries SHOP This royal-related contemporary gallery has many artist limited editions, Yoko Ono for one. You know those are sure to increase in value. She is considered a huge cultural influencer and currently underrated by the haters, who thought she broke up the Beatles.
The Tate SHOP This shop and the exhibitions reflected says colonization is in the past. People and cultures are alive here. The Gorilla Girls are in the house. I love their. “The Colors of…” London, Liverpool, etc. items. I’m currently leaning back on a pillow cover I brought home, the Colors of London, that looks like a Pantone chart but colors are named after iconic items. Double Decker Red, for example.
The Victoria and Albert SHOP So much glamour! The Diva collection is to die for. Copies, inspired by, and one of a kind limited editions are available. One of my favorite shops.
The Wallace Collection SHOP One of my favorite collections. The museum is small but mighty, same with the shop. Online it’s dog forward. They loved their dogs, those Wallaces. They also loved what the shop calls Homeware, their bone china plates and tea service-ware. I have to admit, I love the mug inspired by Jean Honoré Fragonard's The Swing. The scarves are gorgeous too. I’m a bit puzzled, however, they don’t offer armor for dogs or horses like on display. Seems like a natural to me.
Mary Longe holds a certificate in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art, London. She is the former executive director of the Plein Air Painters Chicago, and an artist.
Looking at the pile of paintings, unused panels, duplicate tubes of paint, I wonder what would my son do with it all, if and or when the proverbial bus hits me. Here's a recently published article I've written from those musings and some research. https://realismtoday.com/what-to-do-with-the-contents-of-your-art-studio-before-you-kick-the-bucket/
Here is an excellent article about the Chicago Art Scene with a strong call out for the Plein Air Painters Chicago. https://www.redfin.com/blog/chicago-art-scene/
Bottomline, read the fine print.
Last week I purchased a piece of art from the Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens, London, which specializes in contemporary art. I’d been there as a class field trip and loved the exhibit and the site – just outside Kensington. The museum has two buildings in the same area, but not connected. The galleries shop is small compared to other London museums, it mostly retails books and art. We were there as part of my Art Business program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, for a tour and lecture being given by two art historians, both authors, Ben Street, Flavia Frigeri whose books were in the shop. I like buying at the museum shops because I know that the revenue is going back into their endeavors, which is why I was looking for a gift the other day, that was art related and would be unique.
I found a limited-edition print created and signed by Yoko Ono. I liked the art, and I liked buying something of hers, because I think she is undervalued as consequential artist. It fit my interests and a budget. It was to be a gift for my son and his wife. Even as a child, instead of a stuffed animal, I’d bring him a piece of art from a business trip or vacation. Nothing really expensive, often outsider art, but I figured a work had few years to steep before he’d be ready to sell it, and with luck, it would appreciate in the meantime. My thought was that someday, he could sell it for cash to buy something of his own liking.
I used a credit card and gave them all the shipping info to their address in another state. A confirmation of the sale arrived in my email a few seconds later. I reviewed it three hours later… carefully. It was there I found the small print I should have read before inputting my credit card. “It is the Artist’s expectation that the Artwork will not be purchased for resale and will be retained by you for your own personal enjoyment. Specifically, you may not sell or offer for sale the Artwork on any interne- based auction or other website.”
Though there was no thought of reselling the art at the time I bought it, being told it can’t ever be resold is not in the best interest of my gift or the people receiving it. In my thinking, this term makes it basically a receipt for a financial gift to the museum without even the benefits of a donation. I cancelled my order. They took a week to refund the money to my account.
Read the fine print.
Since completing the Art Business certificate at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, I split my time between my own art and building an art business service. Currently, I am working with a collector to create a strategy and inventory for their massive art collection - 2,500+ pieces. The strategy aspect is to align their art collection with their personal financial and legacy interests; the inventory to understand, value and insure the collection.
Some items will remain in the collection and some deaccessioned- whether gifted or sold to fund other endeavors. We are using software to house the inventory, which means we, me and a small team of art or art history, students, are photographing pieces, matching related receipts and other provenance (found either on the back of the piece or in one of 40 years of banker boxes.) The process also includes documenting dimensions and tracking media, substrates and other info, and valuation of each piece. (This is a 9 to 12 month project.)
In order to create a process and to train the students, I have personally data entered about 70 items. I am struck by the lack of information that we can glean to be able to document an individual piece. This is not good for the Artist.
Basically, if it can’t be identified and associated with the artist, it cannot be (easily or with certainty) valued. This means that is highly unlikely it would be included in an exhibit or go to auction. For an artist these are the things that add and prove value in their work. Therefore the beauty of the painting is truly only as good as eye of the beholder. To put it plainly, if you want your art to increase in value, so you or your heirs or your gallery can price it higher, it must be attributed to you.
I'm honored to have my work reviewed in Made in Bed, an arts e-zine from Sotheby's Institure of Art.
www.madeinbed.co.uk/emerging/mary-longe
