Mark Dion. Scala Naturae, 1994. Stepped plinth, artifacts, specimens, taxidermic animals, and bust;
ever since doing my MCP, I thought mark Dion is one of the artists that has such a broad range of work, and is making work in a realm that I am also interested in - I admire him a lot, and the way he thinks.. I find him very inspiring. I found this article that was really fascinating. I’ll underline some parts that was especially intriguing. below is an article I found valuable.. (the engagement with science - the amateur/dilettante.. the role of aesthetics... humor as a tool..)
https://art21.org/read/mark-dion-science-and-aesthetics/
Artist Mark Dion discusses his work’s relation to performance, authority, aesthetics and humor.
ART21: Is there an element of role-play or performance in the work?
DION: My work has a pretty complicated relationship to performance. Part of that is because there’s no traditional audience-performer relationship. But there is a Bouvard and Pécuchet element in my work: in a way, I’m working through the natural sciences as a dilettante. At the same time, I’m doing that in a very playful way to probe and question the trappings of authority. I’m examining the trappings of authority while, at the same time, I have some relationship at least to the history of the discipline itself.
I am very interested in the figure of the dilettante, the amateur. Amateurs have made great contributions in science, but now we live in a time when there’s such a radical degree of specialization that it’s very difficult for professionals in physics or biology to be able to communicate to a general public. Trying to be this character in between is fascinating. At the same time, I’m always suspicious of the way artists use science because science has such tremendous influence and authority in our culture. Whenever you encounter the kind of authority that seems unquestioned and unquestionable, you need to find ways to challenge it. One of the reasons for taking a play-acting approach is to create a situation in which people regard the trappings of authority with suspicion.
ART21: Are you to some degree suspicious of your own authority?
DION: It’s not that I’m suspicious of myself, but I want to create a situation in which the information I’m presenting is looked at critically—not taken for granted—and is examined with caution. There are people who read culture very cautiously and critically. That’s a healthy way to approach the information that we’re given every day. That’s one of the things I’m very engaged with in my work—trying to hone that skill in myself and, I hope, in people who look at my work.
Mark Dion. The Library for the Birds of Antwerp, 1993. Eighteen African finches, tree, ceramic tiles, books, photographs, bird cages, bird traps, chemical containers,rat and snake in liquid, shot gun shells, axe, nets, Audubon prints, bird nests, wax fruit, and assorted objects; dimensions variable.
ART21: Can you say more about the amateur and the dilettante?
DION: People disparage the amateur and the dilettante. We see the dilettante as a very negative thing. But the history of the dilettante societies was exactly the opposite; they were really collections of learned people who were pooling their knowledge and resources together into clubs. And I think the amateur really has made tremendous contributions. One of the interesting things about the amateur is that they do what they do for themselves, and I think that’s really fascinating. I am primarily the first member of my own audience. My work is all focused on things I love and am most interested in.
One of the things about the amateur is that, even though something may not be new to science (like this particular bird they’re studying), it’s new to them. They’re able to experience the enthusiasm and excitement about discovery, which really drives scientific inquiry and artistic passion, as well. They’re able to make it their own in a way. So, I’m really interested in nerd culture. I’m interested in anyone who gets out of the house and away from the television and does something really exciting. Whether that’s stamp collecting, stone collecting, painting, or race driving—as long as it’s active and involves a kind of critical and intellectual inquiry. We’re very fortunate to live in a time where there are hundreds of thousands of birdwatchers and kayakers and kids trading cards—all these kinds of great things that people are passionate about. So, we’re not just overwhelmed by a tide of shoppers and television watchers.
ART21: How do viewers engage with your work? Do you feel it gets misunderstood?
DION: I think that a lot of people have engaged with my work in a serious way. I feel very satisfied with that to a broad extent. I think one of the misunderstandings is that my work is somehow this relativistic critique of science. And I don’t really think that’s the case. I mean, I think that you can be critical of the way something is [made instrumental] and at the same time still support the goals and motives of that field. Just because you are engaged with it in a critical way doesn’t throw the whole thing out. I have a relationship to science as an ever-evolving way of thinking. Of course, there are mistakes made, but I think that, in general, the goals of the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment are still worth pursuing. The movement away from superstition and tribalism is an incredibly important factor in the future of our relationship with the planet.
Mark Dion. The Great Munich Bug Hunt, 1993. Tree, collecting cabinet, specimens, and lab equipment; dimensions variable.
ART21: What is the role of aesthetics in all of this?
DION: I think it’s important that the category of nature is not something the field of science has a monopoly on—that everyone has a say in what gets to be nature, at a particular time, for a particular group of people. In order to motivate people to care about the natural world around us, one of our chief tools is an aesthetic sensibility. And certainly environmentalism has an aesthetic. But I think we need to be guided by certain scientific principles and a conservation ethic as well. All of those things can come together to create a kind of relationship to the natural world that is productive and motivated by something other than profit. Profit can’t be the only thing that motivates our society. Otherwise, we’re really in trouble.
ART21: There seems to be a humorous quality in a lot of the work.
DION: The work is meant to be aggravating, in a sense. I’m not really trying to make anyone happy with this work. At the same time, it does hinge very much on humor. That’s a really critical component. Some of the things I’m talking about are very grim. And I think they’re very important. Sugarcoating them with a little bit of humor really helps; it’s definitely the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. And I think you’re really allowed to say more with humor. It takes away the arrogance. You have to be able to find a way to say it, that doesn’t put people off and isn’t alienating and arrogant. I think humor is that tool.
ART21: And humor is a tool that scientists probably wouldn’t use to talk about these same ideas.
DION: Even though I have a certain engagement with science, there are a lot of tools that the artist has that the scientist doesn’t. Humor, irony, metaphor—these are the bread and butter of artists. And I think that’s really what artists can add to a particular kind of struggle, that they have this expanded tool bag. We’re not necessarily obliged to tell the truth. We can make work that’s very playful. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to deceive people. You can foreground that deception and make that what the work is about.
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this makes me think of my work right now. when he talked about humour/irony/metaphor, and the playful way of presenting/making work, I feel that I may have been doing that to some extent.. I'm thinking of the postcards (more of a stand-in or representation) I made with the captions like 'Somewhere in Africa, Africa' because that's how I feel walking into a collection like that, as ignorant as I am and most audiences are. you don't really walk into a gallery, see all these taxidermy animals and remember where each one came from when they were living (unless you are really invested, which I don't think the average tourist is), because they are here, right now, skins rearranged, for us to lay our eyes on. I think I definitely use a lot of irony (and wordplay) in my work... I think it does very much add a lot more to the work, as text offers so many different interpretations and double, triple meanings.
I feel comforted by the fact that Dion said 'we're (artists) are not necessarily obliged to tell the truth' and that 'just because you are engaged with it in a critical way doesn’t throw the whole thing out'. also, the thing about aesthetics - 'In order to motivate people to care about the natural world around us, one of our chief tools is an aesthetic sensibility.' - I am glad he said that, because sometimes I feel I am imposing in some way using the material of nature when I pick something out for the aesthetic value.. but that really is what the work is about.. of course, it's true that 'we need to be guided by certain scientific principles and a conservation ethic as well'. I think he said it all.
I think I am a very curious person and often times, good or bad, I'd get curious about many many different things at once - and I am unable to engage in every thing at the same depth - so it's a sort of surface level collage - and through that new meaning is created through this composition and thought process of trying these elements together. and so there may be the danger of appropriating some things or taking something entirely out of context. this feels sort of wrong, but that's what I feel I have to do with material I find. could I call myself a form of an amateur or the dilettante? it's quite interesting to assign a 'role', it feels concrete and certain even though I'm working as someone who is uncertain - who is just discovering the world around them.
with these drawings I'm doing during the pandemic, I realise (well, I've always been doing this I guess) that I am making these drawings from what I'm learning from the outside /and not travelling/, not really (moving countries doesn't count as much as you'd expect.. you stay in your home and routine anywhere.. though you are exposed to an entirely new system of cultures) though I have traveled the world just from the portal online with technology. it is so easy to expose yourself to anything and everything about the world (though false information - particularly manipulated or biased - is everywhere and I definitely fall for it.. I believe too easily) and create an 'understanding' of the planet through the surface of google's first page.
with these drawings, I am on a journey - perhaps just starting it, in this narrative, which could or could not be fiction - and I am experiencing the excitement of discovery (like dion said, just because something is not new to science or the world, it's new to me, like I'm an alien who just landed here or something and learning a lot about this world - and not knowing or being too aware of the manipulation of information or images out there, taking everything as truth..) (in this way, could I make my drawings into a more distinct narrative than it already is - with text? perhaps supporting fictional text, like a story..) (or two versions of text - one truthful to me and one grown from looking at the drawing I produced.. and the audience doesn't know which one is true / fiction or both or neither) (maybe this could speak to how it's easy for us to take something of face value and so quick to consume something without truly understanding it.. or that a situation will always have layered/various contexts and [sides of the story]..)
I think my 'fictional' role with these drawings is something like 'stumbling upon a planet I have no choice but to stay on, learning about the world through a very broad yet limited (in terms of manipulation or bias or desensitisation overconsumption etc) lens of technology, appreciating and excited about various discoveries like land/nature, infrastructure, and technology, but also the human - like the [deeply rooted] inhumanity and injustices we see from afar -like the racism in history and right now) - being truly shocked and horrified and true to these pure feelings of being a temporary resident tied to this planet of some unknown reason, especially during a pandemic/isolation period (perhaps against a sci-fi backdrop, or dystopian. am I discovering an abandoned planet? because that's what it feels like sometimes. humanity seems abandoned from an outsider's perspective. anyway, that's why I felt the 'abandoned places' especially that of amusement parks, is such a rich source of material. because the amusement park 1) is such a human place - chasing adrenaline and creating a 'dreamland' from visuals like bright colours and big eyed mascots, family friendly, all ages - 2) usually contains the presence of artificial nature/foliage (as Eco said, we crave for the fake), which ties into the 'small world' imitated, like Disney's main street or something. well, every amusement park essentially is land manipulated to try to be a believable 'world', sort of packaged in this ideal for you to enjoy and sprawl around in - like the quote I used in my MCP about the visitor actively knowing they are playing a role in a play.. 3) the idea of the tourist/souvenir/package.. sometimes you feel you travelled the world in them.
with these drawings, I am on a journey - perhaps just starting it, in this narrative, which could or could not be fiction - and I am experiencing the excitement of discovery (like dion said, just because something is not new to science or the world, it's new to me, like I'm an alien who just landed here or something and learning a lot about this world - and not knowing or being too aware of the manipulation of information or images out there, taking everything as truth..) (in this way, could I make my drawings into a more distinct narrative than it already is - with text? perhaps supporting fictional text, like a story..) (or two versions of text - one truthful to me and one grown from looking at the drawing I produced.. and the audience doesn't know which one is true / fiction or both or neither) (maybe this could speak to how it's easy for us to take something of face value and so quick to consume something without truly understanding it.. or that a situation will always have layered/various contexts and [sides of the story]..)
I think my 'fictional' role with these drawings is something like 'stumbling upon a planet I have no choice but to stay on, learning about the world through a very broad yet limited (in terms of manipulation or bias or desensitisation overconsumption etc) lens of technology, appreciating and excited about various discoveries like land/nature, infrastructure, and technology, but also the human - like the [deeply rooted] inhumanity and injustices we see from afar -like the racism in history and right now) - being truly shocked and horrified and true to these pure feelings of being a temporary resident tied to this planet of some unknown reason, especially during a pandemic/isolation period (perhaps against a sci-fi backdrop, or dystopian. am I discovering an abandoned planet? because that's what it feels like sometimes. humanity seems abandoned from an outsider's perspective. anyway, that's why I felt the 'abandoned places' especially that of amusement parks, is such a rich source of material. because the amusement park 1) is such a human place - chasing adrenaline and creating a 'dreamland' from visuals like bright colours and big eyed mascots, family friendly, all ages - 2) usually contains the presence of artificial nature/foliage (as Eco said, we crave for the fake), which ties into the 'small world' imitated, like Disney's main street or something. well, every amusement park essentially is land manipulated to try to be a believable 'world', sort of packaged in this ideal for you to enjoy and sprawl around in - like the quote I used in my MCP about the visitor actively knowing they are playing a role in a play.. 3) the idea of the tourist/souvenir/package.. sometimes you feel you travelled the world in them.
I think I might use this material of the abandoned amusement park imagery - perhaps when it wasn't abandoned - from 'amateur' tourist videos. what does this mean - using footage from the past, sights we cannot see or return to anymore - this reminds me of a video I watched recently by the channel I watch regularly and love - kurzgesagt - in this video they actually collaborated with John Green (who I also love, with his passion of spreading free education and of course his way with words in his novels) - he reads a story from his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, on the caves of Lascaux, how they made an imitation cave in order to protect the original one from our human presence (demand by tourists, even just breathing on the drawings). what I loved about how John Green talks through this part of history is the emphasis of humans having the desire to 'make a mark'. and the visual and meaning of the simple 'hand' mark is so powerful. there is something melancholic and beautiful about that. like all humans know that their time will come when they will have to leave this planet in death, almost leaving something for the next generations, making history (especially impressive through the many, many generations of drawings left there).. anyway, I'm going to leave some screenshots below from the video..
The Past We Can Never Return To – The Anthropocene Reviewed
