Plastic flamingo
Encyclopedia
Pink plastic flamingos are one of the most famous of lawn ornament
s in the United States
, along with the garden gnome
and other such ornamentation.
The plastic pink flamingo
was designed in 1957 by Don Featherstone
while working for Union Products, and has become an icon of pop culture
, and won him the Ig Nobel Prize
for Art in 1996. It has even spawned a lawn greeting industry where flocks of pink flamingos are installed on a victim's lawn in the dark of night. After the release of John Waters
's 1972 movie Pink Flamingos
, plastic flamingos came to be the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch
.
Many imitation products have found their way onto front lawns and store shelves since then; those "official" pink flamingos made by Union Products from 1987 (the 30th anniversary of the plastic flamingo) until 2001 can be identified by the signature of Don Featherstone located on the rear underside of the flamingo. These official flamingos were sold in pairs, with one standing upright and the other with its head low to the ground, "feeding". Sometime after Featherstone's retirement in 2000, Union Products began producing birds without the signature. In December of 2001, the Annals of Improbable Research (bestowers of the Ig Nobel prize) teamed up with the Museum of Bad Art to protest this omission in the form of a boycott. Union Products, of Leominster, Massachusetts
, stopped production of pink flamingos on November 1, 2006.
However, HMC International LLC, a subsidiary of Faster-Form Corporation, purchased the copyright and plastic molds of Featherstone's original plastic flamingos in 2007. HMC sub-contracted production of the Flamingo's to Cado Manufacturing, Inc. (cadocompany.com), a blow-molder located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts who specialized in this type of production. . In 2010, Cado Manufacturing purchased the copyrights and the entire Union Products product line, including the pink flamingo, from HMC. Cado continues to manufacture the Union Products line, and production of the pink flamingo has increased in recent times.
In a famous 1979 prank by the Pail and Shovel Party, who would go on to control the Wisconsin Student Association at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, the slope of Bascom Hill
was covered with 1008 plastic flamingos the morning of the first day of classes. The book If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks used a photo of the flamingos on its cover. In 2009, the city of Madison, Wisconsin
Common Council designated the plastic flamingo as the city's official bird.
Lawn ornament
Lawn ornaments are decorative objects placed in the grassy area of a property.- Common lawn ornaments :Bird bath - A structure designed to hold water for birds to bathe in or drink, generally supported upon a pedestal....
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, along with the garden gnome
Garden gnome
A garden gnome or lawn gnome is a figurine of a small humanoid creature, usually wearing a pointy hat, produced for the purpose of ornamentation and protection from evil sorcery, typically of gardens or on lawns....
and other such ornamentation.
The plastic pink flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
was designed in 1957 by Don Featherstone
Donald Featherstone (artist)
Donald "Don" Featherstone is an American artist who is most widely known for his 1957 creation of the Plastic Pink Flamingo while working for Union Products. Currently Featherstone resides in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he keeps 57 plastic flamingos on his front lawn...
while working for Union Products, and has become an icon of pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, and won him the Ig Nobel Prize
Ig Nobel Prize
The Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "first make people laugh, and then make them think"...
for Art in 1996. It has even spawned a lawn greeting industry where flocks of pink flamingos are installed on a victim's lawn in the dark of night. After the release of John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
's 1972 movie Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...
, plastic flamingos came to be the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
.
Many imitation products have found their way onto front lawns and store shelves since then; those "official" pink flamingos made by Union Products from 1987 (the 30th anniversary of the plastic flamingo) until 2001 can be identified by the signature of Don Featherstone located on the rear underside of the flamingo. These official flamingos were sold in pairs, with one standing upright and the other with its head low to the ground, "feeding". Sometime after Featherstone's retirement in 2000, Union Products began producing birds without the signature. In December of 2001, the Annals of Improbable Research (bestowers of the Ig Nobel prize) teamed up with the Museum of Bad Art to protest this omission in the form of a boycott. Union Products, of Leominster, Massachusetts
Leominster, Massachusetts
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...
, stopped production of pink flamingos on November 1, 2006.
However, HMC International LLC, a subsidiary of Faster-Form Corporation, purchased the copyright and plastic molds of Featherstone's original plastic flamingos in 2007. HMC sub-contracted production of the Flamingo's to Cado Manufacturing, Inc. (cadocompany.com), a blow-molder located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts who specialized in this type of production. . In 2010, Cado Manufacturing purchased the copyrights and the entire Union Products product line, including the pink flamingo, from HMC. Cado continues to manufacture the Union Products line, and production of the pink flamingo has increased in recent times.
In a famous 1979 prank by the Pail and Shovel Party, who would go on to control the Wisconsin Student Association at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, the slope of Bascom Hill
Bascom Hill
Bascom Hill is the main quadrangle that forms the symbolic core of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It is located on the opposite end of State Street from the Wisconsin State Capitol, and is named after John Bascom, former president of the University of Wisconsin...
was covered with 1008 plastic flamingos the morning of the first day of classes. The book If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks used a photo of the flamingos on its cover. In 2009, the city of Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
Common Council designated the plastic flamingo as the city's official bird.