Mark Dion: Krypto-Zoologist

Artists used to make art for museums, but Mark Dion makes art that mines—and mimes—the museum itself. A widely exhibited artist who has been profiled on the PBS series art:21, he has taken frequent pages from zoology, including such projects as The Department of Marine Animal Identification of the City of New York (China Town Division) and Roundup: An Entomological Endeavor for the Smart Museum of Art. In the former, Dion collected, classified, and preserved fish from various New York City markets; in the latter, he searched for and displayed all the insects inhabiting the University of Chicago's Smart Museum. Dion opens up about his art with Lisa Graziose Corrin, director of the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University and coauthor of the first monograph on the artist.

The annual Richard Gray Visual Art Series recognizes a significant gift from founding CHF board member and distinguished art dealer Richard Gray. This program is presented in partnership with the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. Additional thanks to Lynn Hauser and Neil Ross for helping make this program possible.

Video produced by Pentimenti Productions.