The Young Entomologists

Artist Mark Dion (American, born 1961)

Publisher Tamarind Institute (founded 1970)

Date2019

MediumColor lithograph

DimensionsImage: 10 1/4 × 9 1/4 in. (26 × 23.5 cm) Sheet: 11 × 10 in. (27.9 × 25.4 cm)

Credit LineAnonymous gift in honor of Jennifer Zwolinski, Associate Provost, 2017-2020

CultureAmerican

MarkingsTamarind chop (BL); printer's chop (BR); very faint stamp of a flying bug on verso;

Inscribed1/30; The Young Entomologist; M. Dion 2019; 19-338 SWSS (verso)

Catalogue raisonnéTamarind No 19-338

Object numberPC2020.04

ClassificationsPrint Collection

DescriptionA young girl and boy are sketched in blue, both holding their nets, standing in the bottom center of the image. They are surrounded by six sketches of various insects in red. The entire composition is framed in a blue square, with a horizontal blue line drawn at bottom, underscoring the handwritten print information.
Interpretations Mark Dion is a highly regarded contemporary artist whose work in a variety of media is unified by its bemused approach toward historical museum practice. Dion’s fascination with collecting and display is fundamentally sincere, however. Building or transforming museum environments has been part of his playbook for decades. Appreciation for Dion’s imaginative installations is today quite broad and has resulted in invitations from curators to create site-specific projects in prestigious museums from Seattle to Boston, and from Minneapolis to Fort Worth. In 2000, Dion participated in a three-artist exhibition called Ecologies at the David and Alfred Smart Art Museum (University of Chicago) in which he titled his personal contribution “Roundup: An Entomological Endeavor.” That project, and likely many others, stand behind the lithograph he recently made at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, called The Young Entomologists. In this small, nearly square-format work, Dion mixes the visual language of natural science with children’s book illustration to mount a wry commentary on academic discovery and the accumulation of knowledge. This print was acquired in honor of Professor Jennifer Zwolinski, a valued colleague and ardent supporter, for her service as the University Galleries’ liaison to the Provost over the last three years. - Derrick R. Cartwright, Director, University Galleries

This record has been reviewed by University Galleries staff but may be incomplete or contain errors. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For any inquiries about the information listed, please email galleries@sandiego.edu.