Natural History
Lori Nix, American, born 1969
Kathleen Gerber, American, born 1967
2005
Chromogenic color print
Overall: 24 × 80 in. (61 × 203.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Ninah and Michael Lynne
2018.37.262
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Photograph
Research Area
Photograph
Not on view
Label
Either long abandoned or suddenly struck by a cataclysm, this museum, an elaborate miniature model made by Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber, is a ruin, the remnant of a former civilization. Previously assigned a classification, stuffed, and displayed in a detailed diorama, the animals escape scientific control and magically return to life. This whimsical take on going “back to nature” is tinged with irony, though, as these species, which inhabit remote areas, move into an urban environment.
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
Exhibition History
This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 5–April 18, 2022.
Provenance
Miller Block Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts, date unknown; Anonymous gift; given to present collection, 2018.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu