Alexei Volkov
The plastic flamingo, a common lawn ornament in the United States, was designed by American artist Don Featherstone in 1957. Featherstone, a trained sculptor, created the now-ubiquitous pink lawn flamingo for Union Products, a plastics company in Leominster, Massachusetts. The pink flamingo has since become an icon of pop culture, inspiring a spoof lawn greeting industry and featuring in John Waters' 1972 cult classic film, *Pink Flamingos*.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Creator | Don Featherstone |
| Year of invention | 1957 |
| Place of invention | Leominster, Massachusetts |
| Company | Union Products |
| Inspiration | Images in National Geographic |
| First product | Charlie the Duck |
| Sold as | A pair, one standing upright and the other feeding |
| Cost | $2.76 |
| Consumers | Working-class homeowners |
| Symbol of | Rebellion, outrageousness, bad taste |
| Popular culture references | John Waters' 1972 movie Pink Flamingos |
| Recent references | Official bird of Madison, Wisconsin since 2009 |
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What You'll Learn
- Don Featherstone designed the plastic flamingo in 1957
- They were first sold in pairs in the Sears Roebuck catalogue
- The 1960s saw a backlash against the plastic flamingo
- John Waters' 1972 film *Pink Flamingos* cemented its association with kitsch
- In 2009, Madison, Wisconsin, named the plastic flamingo its official bird
Don Featherstone designed the plastic flamingo in 1957
Don Featherstone, an American artist, designed the plastic flamingo in 1957. He was a trained sculptor with a background in classical art and had been hired by Union Products in Leominster, Massachusetts, specifically to create 3D plastic lawn and garden ornaments. Featherstone created the now-ubiquitous pink flamingo based on photos he saw in National Geographic. He named the first one Diego.
The flamingo was one of Featherstone's earliest projects at Union Products, and he couldn't get his hands on a real flamingo, so he modelled his prototypes after images from the magazine. The pink flamingo was born a year after Featherstone was hired by Union Products in 1956. Featherstone worked for the company for 43 years, rising to the position of president before his retirement in 1999.
The plastic flamingo was mass-produced by Union Products and sold in pairs, with one standing upright and the other with its head low to the ground, "feeding". They were first sold in the Sears Roebuck catalogue for $2.76 and were a hit with working-class homeowners. In the 1960s, however, there was a backlash against the ornaments, with hippies railing against them because they were mass-produced and unnatural. The plastic flamingo became an emblem of bad taste and a symbol of rebellion, outrageousness, and all things "un-natural".
Despite this, the plastic flamingo has endured as a pop culture icon, even spawning a spoof lawn greeting industry that installs flocks of pink flamingos on people's lawns in the middle of the night. In 1996, Featherstone won the Ig Nobel Prize for Art for his creation. In 2009, the city of Madison, Wisconsin, designated the plastic flamingo as the city's official bird.
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They were first sold in pairs in the Sears Roebuck catalogue
The plastic flamingo, designed by Don Featherstone in 1957, was first sold in pairs in the Sears Roebuck catalogue. Sears Roebuck described the pair as a "full-round flamingo pair", with one bird standing tall and the other "feeding", for the price of $2.76. The catalogue listing in spring 1958 enticed buyers with the suggestion that the "lovely pink colouring forms a handsome contrast against the green of your lawn and shrubbery".
The plastic flamingos were a hit with working-class homeowners, but they soon became a symbol of bad taste and tackiness. In the 1960s, hippies railed against them because they were mass-produced and unnatural, and cultural critics chastised them as "un-natural". The plastic flamingo's reputation as an emblem of bad taste inspired John Waters' 1972 cult classic film, *Pink Flamingos*.
Despite the backlash, the plastic flamingo continued to gain popularity. In 1987, the governor of Massachusetts, Union Products' home, declared the plastic bird "an essential contribution to American folk art". By the 1980s, the plastic flamingo had become a symbol of artifice and nature, and a marker of "anything rebellious, outrageous, or oxymoronic".
Today, the plastic flamingo is a well-known lawn ornament in the United States and has even been named the official bird of Madison, Wisconsin, in 2009.
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The 1960s saw a backlash against the plastic flamingo
The plastic flamingo, a kitsch icon of American lawn ornaments, was invented in 1957 by Don Featherstone, an artist and sculptor, in Massachusetts. Featherstone's creation became an iconic symbol of American pop culture, with its mass-produced, bright pink presence adorning many a front yard across the nation. However, this ubiquitous symbol of suburban taste sparked a backlash in the 1960s, with a growing number of people criticizing its aesthetic and what it represented.
Featherstone's original design was first manufactured by the Union Products plastic company, based in Leominster, Massachusetts. The company had a long history of producing plastic lawn ornaments, including ducks, reindeer, and nativity scenes. The flamingo, with its bright colors and long legs, was an instant hit and soon became a best-seller. By the early 1960s, it was a common sight, with millions sold across the country.
However, as the decade progressed, a counterculture movement emerged, and social attitudes began to shift. The plastic flamingo became a target of derision, seen by many as a symbol of conformity and a lack of taste. It represented the standardization of American culture, where unique, natural beauty was replaced with mass-produced, artificial substitutes. The plastic flamingo was criticized for its garish colors and its placement in neatly trimmed, uniform lawns, reflecting a shift in values where natural, organic, and unique qualities were prized over the artificial and uniform.
This shift in taste is also reflected in the growing environmental movement of the 1960s. With a rising awareness of pollution and the impact of synthetic materials on the environment, the plastic flamingo became emblematic of the problem. Its bright, artificial colors were in stark contrast to the natural world, and its plastic composition contributed to the growing issue of plastic waste. As a result, the once-beloved lawn ornament gradually fell out of favor, with many people removing them from their yards and choosing more natural, eco-friendly alternatives.
The backlash against the plastic flamingo was a significant cultural shift, reflecting a changing social and environmental consciousness in America. While it may have started as a light-hearted, kitsch ornament, its ubiquity and association with conformity led to its decline in popularity. This shift also highlights the complex relationship Americans have with their cultural symbols and the fluid nature of taste and aesthetics, where even the most beloved icons can fall out of favor as societal values evolve.
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John Waters' 1972 film *Pink Flamingos* cemented its association with kitsch
The plastic flamingo, a kitsch icon, has an intriguing history. Its invention is often attributed to Don Featherstone, who designed the iconic plastic lawn flamingo in 1957. Featherstone's version, produced by Union Products, became the most famous and recognizable, solidifying its place in American pop culture. However, the story of the plastic flamingo's association with kitsch can be largely attributed to John Waters' 1972 film, *Pink Flamingos*.
John Waters' cult classic *Pink Flamingos* is notorious for its bizarre and transgressive nature, and it played a significant role in associating the plastic flamingo with kitsch. The film's title itself, *Pink Flamingos*, is a nod to the plastic lawn ornament. In one of the film's most famous scenes, the main character, Divine, tends to her front yard, which is adorned with plastic flamingos. This scene is a direct reference to the emerging trend of plastic flamingos as lawn ornaments in American suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s. By featuring the plastic flamingos so prominently, Waters elevated the kitsch factor and created an enduring link between the plastic bird and the film's unconventional aesthetic.
Waters' intention was to shock and challenge societal norms, and he achieved this by embracing and celebrating the very things that mainstream culture often deemed tasteless or vulgar. The use of plastic flamingos in *Pink Flamingos* became a symbol of subversion, embracing the idea of "bad taste" and challenging traditional notions of beauty and art. The film's association with the plastic flamingo reinforced its status as a kitsch icon, often associated with camp, excess, and a playful sense of aesthetics.
Furthermore, the film's impact on popular culture was significant. *Pink Flamingos* gained a cult following and became a landmark in the world of independent cinema. As the film gained notoriety, so did the plastic flamingo. The association with the film only added to the plastic flamingo's reputation as a symbol of quirky, eccentric taste. It became embraced by those who identified with the film's countercultural spirit, further cementing its place in the realm of kitsch.
The plastic flamingo's journey from lawn ornament to kitsch icon is a fascinating one, and John Waters' *Pink Flamingos* played a pivotal role in this transformation. Through its deliberate use and celebration of the plastic flamingo, the film solidified the connection between the plastic bird and a particular aesthetic sensibility that embraced the unconventional and challenged societal norms of taste. Today, the plastic flamingo continues to be a recognizable symbol, often used ironically or as a playful nod to its kitsch heritage, thanks in no small part to its association with John Waters' controversial film.
John Waters himself has become an icon of sorts for embracing and celebrating kitsch, and his influence extends beyond *Pink Flamingos*. His body of work often explores similar themes of subversion and the celebration of "bad taste," ensuring that the plastic flamingo remains an enduring symbol of this aesthetic sensibility.
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In 2009, Madison, Wisconsin, named the plastic flamingo its official bird
The plastic flamingo, designed by Don Featherstone in 1957, has been the official bird of Madison, Wisconsin since 2009. The Madison, Wisconsin, city council voted to honour the plastic pink flamingo in observance of the 30th anniversary of a 1979 University of Wisconsin Madison stunt in which students covered the campus's Bascom Hill with 1,000 of the bright pink birds. The Forward Madison FC, the city's soccer club, uses the plastic flamingo in its logo.
The plastic flamingo was designed by American artist Don Featherstone for Union Products, a plastics company in Leominster, Massachusetts. Featherstone created the now-ubiquitous pink flamingo based on photos he saw in National Geographic. The lawn flamingo, mass-produced by Union Products, has become an icon of pop culture, winning Featherstone the Ig Nobel Prize for Art in 1996.
The plastic flamingo was one of hundreds of items Featherstone made for Union Products, including a girl with a watering can, a boy with a dog, and a duck. Featherstone, who died in 2015 at the age of 79, spent 43 years with Union Products, rising to the position of president before his retirement in 1999.
The lawn ornament was initially popular with working-class homeowners, but it later became a symbol of bad taste and was embraced by the counterculture of the 1960s as a symbol of rebellion and outrageousness. In 1972, director John Waters released the film "Pink Flamingos", which further solidified the plastic flamingo's association with camp and kitsch. Despite its controversial reputation, the plastic flamingo has endured as a beloved and iconic symbol of American culture.
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Frequently asked questions
The plastic flamingo was invented in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the United States.
The plastic flamingo was invented by American artist Don Featherstone, who worked for Union Products.
The plastic flamingo was invented in 1957.
People started buying plastic flamingos as a way to mark their houses as their own. They were also considered pretty.
The plastic flamingo became an icon of pop culture, featuring in the 1972 film *Pink Flamingos* and being named the official bird of Madison, Wisconsin, in 2009.
