To come up with this theme, I started by picking my favorite artist we have discussed this semester; Ursula Von Rydingsvard. I think her sculptures are so fascinating, her ingenuity with abstract forms really impresses me. When I thought about what her art means to me, I felt that it can be perceived as how man has shaped the environment into unnatural forms, weather that is for the better or worse.
(Below: Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Storm King)
From this, I knew I wanted to go in an ecological direction.I re-affirmed in my head that the only reason Ursula's pieces were "abstract" was because they were forms that don't really exist in our world. It is then I realized that these sculptures could represent how we've manipulated the world while estranging us from the images of sky scrapers, machinery, and mining plants that we are used to. The thought of "estranging" the viewer from the things he or she might have seen before gave me the idea to do an exhibit focused around how species or races not of our own would view human tendencies and ways of life.
I then selected the artist Mark Dion for his installations. He creates these creepy little scenes of life that are also quite quirky and beautiful. I felt that this calls attention to the main theme of the exhibit, which is the re-examination of human tendencies. Finally, I searched out the artist John Morton for his ceramic pieces. Seeking deceased animals as inspiration, he creates beautiful textured and colored surfaces on grotesque animal carcasses, almost like "sugar coating" or "Lying to the public".
I came up with the title "Anthropology", because anthropology is defined as the study of human kind. I also thought of the term "anthropology" due to the visuals of the collection. I incorporated a lot of worn out looking browns and grays, and some of Mark Dions' work even looks like its collecting dust. These traits make me think of anthropology excavation sites.
I wanted the exhibit to make viewers question what is important to themselves, and also think about what future generations would think of us if they only had our remains to look at.
