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For the Birds: Hastings Photographer Brings a Taste of the Rivertowns to Grand Central Station

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December 23, 2024

By Susan Treiman—

It took an ordinary birdfeeder, a camera, and weeks of COVID isolation to bring rivertowns’ winged wildlife to Grand Central Terminal, thanks to local photographer Rory Mulligan.

The 40-Year-old Hastings-on Hudson printmaker and arts professor is the originator of the ongoing “Auguries” exhibit in the iconic station’s downstairs dining concourse. In 20 poster-sized art-box images, the colorful series captures the birds that visited Mullaney’s backyard during the lonely weeks of the COVID shutdown. The collection brings his work to a far wider and more varied audience than he’s previously reached.

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“It’s provided one of those rare opportunities that you dream about but don’t expect to actually happen,” Mulligan said.

Roughly one million people travel through the station daily during the holiday season, with 750,000 people using the terminal during the rest of the year.

For Mulligan, a Westchester native, 10-year Hastings resident, and assistant professor at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, the entire experience has been the result of happy serendipity. He never expected to find inspiration in avian, rather than human, subjects nor did he suspect he’d find inspiration in the small creatures that frequented his backyard, which overlooks the Hudson River. The homebound 2020 shutdown and its abundance of unstructured time literally opened the window to his new perspective.

“I bought a bird feeder, set it up, and started noticing all the different species with their unique behaviors and personalities that it attracted, and I became fascinated,” he recalled. “This went on until it reached a point where I was observing the birds for several hours every morning and it became a ritual.”

“And that,” he continued, “was when I started to make my photos.”

The project was a departure from his previous efforts in almost every way. Mulligan had never worked with color, considered wildlife as photographic subjects, or produced digital images. As he began his new photographic adventure, though, he experimented with vividly patterned fabrics and natural props to offset the natural beauty of his photographic subjects. Enchanted, he vowed to avoid any additional processing that could alter the photographs’ carefully planned setting.

“Everything you see in these photos actually happened in front of the camera, in a very confined space, and without any trickery,” he explained.

Mulligan often devoted a full eight hours to capturing a single perfect image, as he awaited the right bird, the most interesting activity, the best lighting, and the perfect angle for his shot. Often, he would conceal himself underneath a hunting blanket to ensure he didn’t disturb the pristine photographic set-up.

Thankfully, his persistence paid off, yielding images that were rich in color and avian activity. The photographs shared an almost “painterly,” three-dimensional feel.

When word of the unusual images reached curators for Grand Central Station’s art, Mulligan was asked whether he’d be willing to create an installation. The answer was an immediate and powerful “yes.”

“For me, growing up in Westchester, the station was always the gateway to the city, and I knew how significant a place it was,” Mulligan said.

Unveiled in late 2023, his “Auguries” series now serves as a powerful endorsement for Mulligan’s relatively late switch to professional photography. The Yonkers native had never considered the field, nor had he even visited a darkroom, until a friend invited him to see how she processed images.

“I was immediately hooked,” he said.

That was during his junior year, after the arts major had tried, and rejected, two other major fields of study.

He later earned a Master of Arts degree from Yale University, distinguishing himself as a printmaker and creator of stark black-and-white portraits and urban images. His work has been featured nationally and internationally and is included in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

Still, Mulligan remains a bit reluctant to share his accomplishments with his students and those not familiar with his work.

“I’m not sure why, but when I go to the station, I’ll peek in at the exhibit quickly and then feel bashful… but very lucky,” he shrugged.

The exhibit is open to the public and viewable in the downstairs concourse daily during normal operating hours, from 5:15 a.m. to 2 a.m. year-round.

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For the Birds: Hastings Photographer Brings a Taste of the Rivertowns to Grand Central Station

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