Cicada Mania

Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.

June 29, 2021

Jennifer Angus: Magicicada, a cicada art exhibit at the Staten Island Museum

Filed under: Art | Cicada Arts | Magicicada | William T. Davis — Dan @ 10:47 am

The Staten Island Museum is home to William T. Davis’ massive collection of cicadas and other insects. A new exhibition of insect-based art opens on July 16 at the Staten Island Museum, by artist Jennifer Angus.

Jennifer Angus 2
Art by Jennifer Angus.

Here’s the press release.

For Immediate Release

Jennifer Angus: Magicicada
New exhibition of insect-based art opens July 16 at the Staten Island Museum

(Staten Island, NY — June 29, 2021) As Brood X wanes, cicadas emerge anew at the Staten Island Museum with Jennifer Angus: Magicicada, a new exhibition opening Friday, July 16 2021 and running through May 22, 2022.

Magicicada is an immersive exhibit featuring exquisite ornamental patterns and imaginative vignettes created by artist Jennifer Angus using hundreds of preserved insects. Taking inspiration from the Museum’s collection of cicadas- one of the world’s largest- the installation will feature over two dozen species of cicada, including Brood X periodical cicadas, or Magicicadas, collected during the 2021 emergence.

“Cicadas, and Magicicada in particular, have a deep connection and meaning to the Staten Island Museum. Founder William T. Davis was the cicada expert during his lifetime and was even the one who coined the name Magicicada, capturing the wonder of the periodical cicadas’ mass emergences and long disappearances. It is especially poignant that this exhibit is opening as we are also remerging into the world after a time of darkness. I am hopeful that it can bring people a sense of joy and wonder after a time of profound loss.” Colleen Evans, Staten Island Museum Director of Natural Science.

Using responsibly collected and preserved specimens, Angus creates site-specific installations with hundreds of insects pinned directly to walls, creating patterns reminiscent of textiles or wallpaper. Up close, the installations reveal themselves to be comprised of actual insects, often species that are not traditionally considered beautiful. Angus’s installations also include Victorian-style insect dioramas in antique furniture and bell jars. Her work motivates viewers to find beauty in unexpected places and to understand the importance of insects and other creatures to our world.

In preparation for this exhibit, Angus spent time in the Museum’s extensive natural history collections to help shape the finished show. Select objects and specimens from the natural science collection, including retired collection storage and historic taxidermy, will be featured throughout the gallery amidst Angus’s fanciful arthropod arrangements. During the spring Brood X emergence, she traveled to Princeton, NJ along with the Museum’s Director of Natural Science, Colleen Evans, and Joseph Yoon from Brooklyn Bugs to observe and collect cicadas for the show.

Artist Jennifer Angus states: “I often say that the meat and potatoes of my installations are cicadas. They come big and small. Tropical species often can have colourful wings causing many people to assume they are moths, but unlike those insects, cicadas are tough, hardy creatures standing up to repeated use in my art installations. I could not have been more delighted when the SIM contacted me, and I learned of founder William T. Davis’ passion for cicadas which were an under documented species in his day. I have had the privilege of exploring the SIM’s collection, the one of the largest of cicadas in the world, and have been inspired by these mysterious creatures who spend most of their lives underground but upon emerging let us all know of their presence with loud calls. That Brood X periodical cicadas have emerged this year as well is a joyous event and has brought considerable notice to cicadas. I deeply appreciate the assistance provided by the SIM’s staff in working with me to celebrate the cicada.”

Magicicada is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Staten Island Museum is supported in part by public funds provided through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Exhibition Related Programing

Brood X Sounding Off: Saturday, July 17, 2 pm — 3 pm
Cicada Talk with Colleen Evans, Director of Natural Science

Virtual Artist Talk: Sunday, September 19, 3 pm-4 pm
Registration Required

Staten Island Museum is located on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY 10301.

About the Artist:

Jennifer Angus is a professor in the Design Studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she teaches in the Textile and Apparel Design Program. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and her Master of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Jennifer has exhibited work throughout the world and at galleries such as the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, PA.

Jennifer Angus
Art by Jennifer Angus.

March 1, 2020

Mystery Cicada Object

Filed under: Cicada Arts | Roy Troutman — Dan @ 12:20 pm

Roy Troutman sent us photos of this mysterious cicada-shaped object. We don’t know what it is, but it looks cool.

Front:
Mystery Cicada Object

Back:
Mystery Cicada Object

Wings spread:
Mystery Cicada Object

February 28, 2020

Cicada Skin Lamps by Gaye Williams

Filed under: Cicada Arts | Photos & Illustrations — Dan @ 4:13 pm

Cicada Skin (exuvia, molts, “shells”) Lamps by Gaye Williams.

Cicada Skin Lamps by Gaye Williams

Cicada Skin Lamps by Gaye Williams

December 18, 2016

Cicada Christmas Lights 2016

Filed under: Christmas | Cicada Arts — Dan @ 6:48 pm

Cicada Lights

String of Cicada Lights

I’ve made Christmas lights, in the past, from plastic cicada whistles from Australia.

This year I tried something new and used real cicada exuvia (skins/shells) and LED “fairie lights”, which seem to run cool enough that they won’t be a hazard to the fragile skins. They look pretty. I’m still in the testing phase, but the results so far look promising.

December 24, 2015

Cicada Christmas Lights

Filed under: Christmas | Cicada Arts | Pop Culture | Video — Dan @ 1:58 am

I made cicada Christmas lights using some LED USB Christmas lights, and some plastic cicada whistles from Australia. The song of cicadas heralds the Christmas season in many countries in the southern hemisphere like Australia.

CicadaMania Cicada Christmas Lights from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Cicada Christmas Lights

Here’s the whistles:
Whistles

Bonus Christmas Cicada stuff:

There is a cicada nicknamed the Kobonga Christmas Clanger in Australia (thx David Marshall and Kathy Hill ):

Christmas Clanger Kobanga

How about a cicada Christmas Wreath? This wreath was made by Jenny Pate back in 2004.

Cicada Christmas Wreath made by Jenny Pate.

Or a Cicada Christmas Card from Sam Orr:

Cicada Christmas card

An illustration I made a few years ago:
Cicada Christmas

Christmas Cards:
Christmas Card

Christmas Card

Christmas ornaments made with cicada skins?

Clear Christmas ornaments with cicada exuvia

April 24, 2013

Cicada Princess Movie completed

Filed under: Cicada Arts | Pop Culture — Dan @ 7:25 am

Update:

I received my Cicada Princess clay cicada that was an actual actor/actress in the movie:

Cicada Princess

And here’s the URL to the movie: www.cicadaprincess.com

Here’s some news for cicada fanatics: the movie Cicada Princess has officially wrapped post production and was and successfully submitted it for consideration to the Sundance Film Festival. Read more about it. Congratulations to film maker Mauricio Baiocchi.

The Cicada Princess is a stop-motion animated movie featuring anthropomorphic cicadas. It was funded via Kickstarter contributions. Visit the Cicada Princess website. Here at Cicada Mania, we’re interested in both real and fictional cicadas.

Cicada Princess

June 12, 2011

Best Cicada News of the Week: Cicada Ice Cream?!

Filed under: Brood XIX | Cicada Arts | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 10:30 am

Brood XIX News

You can see the latest 500 cicada sightings on magicicada.org. Visit their “2011 Brood XIX sightings” map. The latest reports are from Illinois and Missouri.

The latest Science Cabaret Podcast is about cicadas, and in particular, the relationship of birds and cicadas. The podcast features Dr. Walt Koenig and is hosted by Dr. Holly.

I enjoyed this blog post Kingdom of the Cicadas. It features photos and videos of the emergence from Joplin, Missouri.

Cicada Ice Cream

There were a lot of news stories about Sparky’s Ice Cream shop in Columbia, Missouri, and their cicada ice cream. After reading dozens of articles, it seems that they only made one batch, and the local health official(s) only advised them not to make the ice cream, but did not specifically or legally stop them from making it.

Related… cicada pie, pizza and tacos courtesy of the University of Maryland’s PDF cookbook. The cookbook is circa 2004 (Brood X) but they still work.

(more…)

December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

Filed under: Christmas | Cicada Arts | Pop Culture — Dan @ 3:23 pm

Christmas gives me a chance to use this image of a (cartoon) cicada nymph drinking the fluids of a Christmas tree.

January 11, 2010

Mutant cicadas enjoying a Mongolian Hot Pot dinner

Filed under: Cicada Arts | Pop Culture — Dan @ 8:28 pm

This whimsical display of dismembered and “reassembled” cicadas enjoying a Mongolian Hot Pot dinner can be yours! It’s for sale on ebay!

cicadadisplay

Awesome!

November 27, 2008

Santa Cicada!

Filed under: Cicada Arts — Dan @ 10:29 pm


Santa Cicada, originally uploaded by weirdbuglady.

I spotted this on Flickr tonight. Just in time for the holiday season.

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