Artist Statement
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The Fowl Play series was started in 2018. The smoking birds in Fowl Play could be our feathered friends reacting to environmental factors, or assimilating to circumstances placed upon them by our human encroachment.

The Fowl Play/Bird House format is a new direction that uses the elements from two prior series, Tablets for Modern Man and Bird Boards. The addition of shiny things to the surface of the Bird House frames adds visual interest and can be thought of as talisman-like.

Humor has always played a significant factor in my art. My art tends to be of a whimsical, narrative vein. I have been developing that aspect since the mid-nineties by working in a variety of themes and series in an attempt to both amuse and create dialogue.

Artist Bio
Doug Pfliger has recently moved back to North Dakota after residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico for nearly five years.
In March of 2020, while in New Mexico the Pandemic locked down the state. Pfliger found the isolation caused by the shutdown conducive to art making, and he experienced an art Renaissance with renewed studio activity. The isolation allowed him to bring to fruition a number of series that had been simple notes, reference images, or thumbnail sketches incubating for months or in some cases years in various sketchbooks. 
Humor has always played a significant factor in his art and he has been developing that aspect since the mid-nineties by working in a variety of themes and series in an attempt to both amuse and create dialogue. Some might argue that humor is a protective shield to keep others from knowing the maker of the art. Pfliger says that the humor helps him to make sense of and deal with the uncertainties of the world we find ourselves in today.
Pfliger holds a number of degrees that include an A.A.S. from Bismarck State College (1978), a BSE from Minot State University (1984) and a MFA from the University of North Dakota (1998). Pfliger taught art for 13 years at the elementary and secondary levels and taught art courses for 13 years at the university level as well.
Pfliger fully retired in 2022 and has been managing to keep the Renaissance going with regular studio immersions. Pfliger currently resides in Beulah, ND.

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