Events

Past Event

Mark Dion - The Field Station of the Melancholy Marine Biologist

October 7, 2021
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
America/New_York
Online

Introduced and followed by a conversation with Maureen Raymo, Director, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Co-Founding Dean of Columbia Climate School.

Renowned visual artist Mark Dion presents recent work, including the new installation The Field Station of the Melancholy Marine Biologist, opening October 8, 2021 on Governors Island. 

About the work: 

“Previously presented at Storm King Art Center as part of the exhibition Climate Indicators: Artists on Climate Change in 2018, and Prospect 4, New Orleans in 2017, The Field Station of the Melancholy Marine Biologist takes on a new form on Governors Island, with objects and material culture informed by the Island’s unique history and the ecology of New York Harbor and the Buttermilk Channel. Starting October 8, 2021, the piece will be on long-term view in Building 105, a historic arsenal building located within the Governors Island Historic District located across from Fort Jay.

The new installation of the work transforms historic Building 105 into an abandoned research outpost, filled with scientific objects, instruments, artifacts and samples. As visitors peer through the building’s windows, they witness a scene preserved in time—a moment, Dion explains, ‘where somebody studying the natural world realizes that the future’s not looking so good…that we are going to lose a great amount of the natural wonders that have been here in previous centuries.’ The work invites reflection on the tools and methodologies through which audiences seek to understand the world around them, while inviting visitors to imagine the life of a solitary researcher faced with the realities of a dark future declining ocean health impacted by climate change.”

 

Co-presented by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Trust for Governors Island.

Contact Information

none