MARK DION – The Natural History of the Museum

Häftad bok. Archibooks. 2007. 114 sidor.

Nyskick. – ABSOLUT NYSKICK, verkar oläst! – (Obet. yt/hörnmärken på omslaget.) Mjuka pärmar med invikta flikar, format, ca 22x28 cm. – Se fler bilder! –– " The Natural History Museum is exhibiting a series of installations created by American artist Mark Dion in honour of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern biological classification. • On show until September 2 2007, the works bridge the 18th and 21st centuries, the processes of science and art and the crossover between urban environments and nature. The title of the exhibition, Systema Metropolis, is derived from Linnaeus’ seminal work ‘Systema Naturae’, published in 1735, of which there is a rare first edition on show. • Linnaeus (also known as von Linné) invented the binomial (two-name) system of classifying living things. It is this Swedish scientist, born on May 23 1807, who we have to thank for the Latin name for human, ‘Homo sapiens’. As another example, his efforts also shortened the internationally recognisable name for tomato from ‘Solanum caule inermi herbaceo, foliis pinnatis incises, racemis simplicibus’ to the much easier ‘Solanum lycopersicum’.
Dion notes that it was a brave move for the NHM to mark Linnaeus’ birthday with an exhibition based on contemporary art rather than a factual display about taxonomy. Systema Metropolis opens with an introduction to Linnaeus, but it is put together in a creative way, mixed in with old naturalists’ collecting equipment and rare books. You can spot an antique specimen of Cannabis sativa in one of the old-fashioned display cases here. • On either side of Linneaus’ original herbarium cabinet are a collection of portraits and a bust of him – this implied reverence of science or scientists is one of the key themes in Dion’s work at the Natural History Museum.
“It was a very exciting opportunity to work with the Museum,” says the artist. “I’m a great lover of natural history museums. It was very much like being a child let in the sweet shop – but they told me you can work with everything in here except the sweets.”
Instead of being given free rein to work with the collections, Dion worked with the Museum scientists and staff who make it the living research institution it is.
“The real asset of the Museum is the people, the researchers and scientists,” he says. “So I wanted to find a way to tap into that – it’s an homage to the people behind the scenes.”
And so the four installations within take us through four fieldwork ‘assignments’ in which Dion and a team of staff from the Museum gathered samples from the microcosm of life in four parts of London, using scientific methodology and illustrated with video journals of the studies.
The first, carried out at Highgate, Brompton and East Finchley Cemeteries, turned up various creepy crawlies …" Caroline Lewis. –– GLÖM INTE ATT TITTA PÅ ALLA MINA ANDRA BÖCKER! –– Samma fraktpris oavsett hur många böcker du beställer! (Gäller inom Sverige)