Off view
American, b. 1961
Brontosaurus, 2016
Mixed media installation
71 in. x 6 ft. 3 in. x 25 in. (180.3 x 190.5 x 63.5 cm) (overall)
42 x 60 x 24 in. (106.7 x 152.4 x 61 cm) (pedestal)
42 x 60 x 24 in. (106.7 x 152.4 x 61 cm) (pedestal)
Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles
Photo by Jeffrey Jenkins
Pedestals are often considered neutral platforms for displaying works of art, but this pedestal for Brontosaurus has been taken over by a large green dinosaur that has tracked tar onto the surface. Moreover, it appears as if a hidden door has been left ajar. Dion has remarked, “My pedestal that elevates this brontosaurus has a secret door, and in the compartment you can see cleaning supplies. . . . It’s always interesting how we hide labor, especially in places like museums, where nothing is more disruptive than seeing the janitor’s closet. The dinosaur represents fossil fuels as well as extinction, including perhaps our own extinction.”