social studies, science, and art education
DESCRIPTION
Social Studies, Science, and Art Education. Mark Dion: Troubleshooting USF Contemporary Art Museum January 13 – March 3, 2012. What other purposes can these items serve (other than their original intended purpose)?. Mesh Produce Bags. Soap Slivers. Old Light Bulbs. Old items…new Purposes!. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Social Studies, Science, and Art Education
What other purposes can these items serve (other than
their original intended purpose)?
Mesh Produce Bags
Soap Slivers
Old Light Bulbs
Old items…new Purposes!
Mesh Produce Bagsbecome…kitchen scrubbies
Old Light Bulbs become…vases and candleholders
Soap Sliversbecome…
Mark Dion
creates drawings, prints, cabinets of curiosity, and installations
often uses “found objects” in his works
deals with important social and environmental issues
Mark Dion
About the artist
Mark Dion was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1961. He received a BFA (1986) and an honorary doctorate (2003) from the University of Hartford, School of Art, Connecticut.
Dion’s work examines the ways our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world are shaped. “The job of the artist,” he says, “is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention.”
He has received numerous awards, including the ninth annual Larry Aldrich Foundation Award (2001). He has had major exhibitions at Miami Art Museum (2006); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2004); and the Tate Gallery, London (1999). "Neukom Vivarium” (2006), a permanent outdoor installation and learning lab for the Olympic Sculpture Park, was commissioned by the Seattle Art Museum.
Dion lives and works in Pennsylvania.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting: to solve problems, usually serious problems
ecologically-themed artwork
special focus on Florida
South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit: Mobile
Laboratory, 2006
comprehensive installation piece
an emergency truck for threatened species
Dion’s truck would enable activists to rescue endangered flora
includes safari-like clothing and bait for invasive animal species
also displays historical images by American botanist John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) of pillaged orchids, bromeliads, and cacti
The South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit: Mobile Laboratory, 2006
Mixed media installation (wood, steel, paint on expanded PVC, Plexiglas, masonite, assorted truck parts and wheels, diamond plated rubber floor mat, vinyl decals, stainless steel poles, and assorted objects)
18 feet, 11 inches x 7 feet, 7 inches x 8 feet, 11 inchesCollection Miami Art Museum, gift of Lin Lougheed
John Kunkel Small
Automobile Loaded with Plant Specimens, 1927
Image Courtesy of State Archives of Florida
Detail from: The South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit: Mobile Laboratory, 2006
John Kunkel SmallThe “Weed Wagon” with a Load of Orchids, Ferns and Bromeliads (Ross Hammock, Florida), 1915
Image Courtesy of State Archives of Florida
Detail from: The South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit: Mobile Laboratory, 2006
The South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit: The Uniforms, 2006
Two mannequins, clothing, custom patches, assorted gear, dimensions variable
Collection Miami Art Museum, gift of Lin Lougheed
“Artists have tools that scientists don’t have… humor, irony, metaphor… these are the bread and
butter of the artist.”
What do the words “humor,” “irony,” and “metaphor” mean?
Consider the work Travels of William Bartram Reconsidered (alligator cabinet) with this quotation in mind.
Travels of William Bartram Reconsidered(alligator cabinet), 2008
Found alligators in various media, paintedwood and glass cabinet, 73 x 13 x 39 ½ inches
Courtesy of the Artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, NY
Questions forTravels of William Bartram Reconsidered
(alligator cabinet)
What does the work say about alligators and the ways in which these native Florida creatures are depicted in popular imagery?
What does this say about the way we think about and treat our natural environment and the animals that live in it?
How does Dion use humor, irony and metaphor in this work to get his point across?
Mark Dion quote
“I’m an artist who holds up a mirror to the present.”
What do you think Dion means by this?