OFFICIAL STATE
MAMMALS or BIRDS
ALASKA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING
ARTIST STATEMENT
Each U.S. state possesses its own designated symbols, sanctioned by the state legislature. In my project, I compiled each state’s official species of mammal (or bird, when a mammal was nonexistent) and linked to further information on the animal.
My original idea was a parallax timeline, progressing through the evolution of the sword. However, due to my difficulty in finding reliable, non-conflicting sources of information, as well as the overwhelming array of available swords, I switched the topic to something more coherent. I retained the hand-drawn outlines of the subject matter, which scroll over faded silhouettes of the pertinent geographic locations.
Although my vision was straightforward, the greatest barrier to creating this project was the amount of time required to create imagery and amass information for all fifty states. Coding was tedious, but I managed to build a page that is identical to what I had planned.