Even the birds gave pause

'Even the birds gave pause' is the fourth photographic book by Michael Stipe presenting a series of works-in-progress that continue an exploration of contemporary portraiture, instinct and abstraction. Classical and conceptual forms create a cohesive whole from seemingly disparate elements, and build what is hopefully an inclusive and complete vision, in which the familiar and unfamiliar are given equal grounding. These works-in-progress include plaster, concrete, rotocast plastics, ceramics, bookmaking, and darkroom photographic printing. Process and the documentation of process becomes a part of the whole. All of this is done in the buildup to a one person exhibition at the Ica Milano Foundation, opening in December 2023 into 2024.