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Bison of St. Louis, 2010 by Mark Dion

Mark Dion

Bison of St. Louis, 2010

Red and blue pencil on paper

2 × 36.5 × 43.5 cm | 13/16 × 14 3/8 × 17 1/8 in.
Signed
Certificate provided by the artist

In Situ - fabienne leclerc

Romainville

€4,000

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About this artwork

A family of bison is seen grazing on a grassy hill, a herd not far behind them. Beyond the sparse nature, we see a city skyline on the horizon. We can recognize a cell tower, and St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, which “honors the early 19th-century explorations of Lewis and Clark and America's westward expansion in general.” The place we are looking at is most likely the Lone Elk Park, a county park that opened in the 70’s and now houses bison, wild turkey, waterfowl, elk and deer. Mark Dion’s blue and red rendering recalls scientific illustration, a testament to the curious sight of the wildlife in such close proximity to the city. Although the park is an effort to educate and to bring people closer to nature, in turn nature is captured and fails to run free to develop in its organic way. Bison hold a great amount of symbolism, as they have a history of being hunted to near extinction and are also being reintroduced in Europe.

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