Mark Dion
American artist · United States · On the map · Artists · Born 1961 · age 65
Mark Dion is an American conceptual artist best known for his use of scientific presentations in his installations. His work examines the manner in which prevalent ideologies and institutions influence our understanding of history, knowledge and the natural world.
Mark Dion is read about 27 times a day, in 6 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 September 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?Media & music
Photos 2
Mark Dion (1961 New Bedford (Massachusetts) 4 new "books" for Schildbach Xylotheque. The Schildbach Xylotheque of the Ottoneum (Natural History Museum) in Kassel (Hessen, Germany). A collection created by Carl Schildbach from 1771 to 1799. Every "book" is made by the wood of the tree that is documented inside it with wax three-dimensional replicas of tree significant elements. Since 2012 the Xylotheque is shown inside the display designed by Mark Dion for dOCUMENTA (13).
This permanent installation by Mark Dion may be entered by visitors. The exhibition catalog is visible on the table, illuminated by a lamp.Awards
About this person
The job of the artist, according to him, is to "go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention". By locating the roots of environmental politics and public policy in the construction of knowledge about nature, Dion questions the objectivity and authoritative role of the scientific voice in contemporary society, tracking how pseudo-science, social agendas and ideology creep into public discourse and knowledge production. Some of his well known works include Neukom Vivarium (2006), a permanent outdoor installation and learning lab for the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington.
