Mark Dion "Right Hand Skeleton" Lithograph

This is an original hand printed lithograph. Mark made the drawing on a traditional lithographic stone which was then "reversed" using a special process which inverts the image. The resulting image appears like a white line drawing on black paper, but the black is actually printed and the white is the "negative space" of the paper. The effect is similar to white chalk on a chalkboard. This pieces references how scientific illustrations label and convey information, but in this case the information is an absurd list of Surrealist and Dada artists from the 20th century.

Mark Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The job of the artist, he says, is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention. Appropriating archaeological, field ecology and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between ‘objective’ (‘rational’) scientific methods and ‘subjective’ (‘irrational’) influences. The artist’s spectacular and often fantastical curiosity cabinets, modeled on Wunderkammen of the 16th and 17th Century, exalt atypical orderings of objects and specimens. Dion also frequently collaborates with museums of natural history, aquariums, zoos and other institutions mandated to produce public knowledge on the topic of nature. By locating the roots of environmental politics and public policy in the construction of knowledge about nature, Mark Dion questions the objectivity and authoritative role of the scientific voice in contemporary society, tracking how pseudo-science, social agendas and ideology creep into public discourse and knowledge production.
(from Tanya Bonakdar Gallery)

All materials that come in contact with the print are fully archival. Packaged using rigid boards to assure safe shipping. Ships via FedEx standard flat rate of $42 to anywhere in the US. Request a quote for international shipping. Local pickup is available for free.