Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Mark Dion's Dino Room

Eric Gelber at www.artcritical.com has a long article about a installation in NYC by Mark Dion. Here’s a excerpt written in ‘Art-Critic-Speak’:
“The white cube is always present but this obscene amassing of consumer crap would leave less of an impression if everything was behind a glass display. These “dinosaurs” have little to do with real dinosaurs, and Dion emphasizes the fact that our understanding of the world is a product of capitalism. Recognizability trumps knowledge. Therefore, the solace we received throughout our childhood from imaginary forms that signify dinosaurs was preparation for a life of impossible longings and willful ignorance. Signifiers are not what they signify and the signified is always absent.”
“…Preparation for a life of impossible longings and willful ignorance”? It goes on like this for some time, most of it only making sense to other art critics.

Thanks to Mike Skrepnick for pointing this out.