"Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art" at The James Museum

"Jewel" by Troy Abbott (2015)

The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art is a relatively new addition to the cultural scene in Southwest Florida. The Museum opened its doors in 2018 thanks to the largesse of Tom and Mary James. Ever heard of Raymond James Financial? Yep, it's the same family. The gorgeous Museum is filled with works from Tom and Mary's collection that reflect their interest in history, storytelling and human connection. The Museum also hosts special exhibits to draw in repeat visitors. 

"Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art" is on display through September 17th. Organized by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Wyoming, the exhibit focuses on the impact man has had on the environment and, in turn, on wildlife. It's a thought provoking show. 

"Jewel" by Troy Abbott is a work I keep coming back to. A video screen with an image of a red canary has been mounted in a vintage birdcage. As the wallcard explains, "Abbott's futuristic canary in a coal mine warns of the impending demise of nature and culture as we know them." The work is from a series inspired by Abbott's interest in science fiction stories in which mass extinction leads humans to create artificial animals to replace their once living counterparts. It's frightening to consider. 

But the work raised a more urgent question in my mind. Given our societal addiction to technology, we are already replacing real life experiences with computer simulations. Why bother to get out of your house and commune with nature when you can be there virtually from the comfort of your home?  Technology is definitely a double-edged sword. For more of Abbott's work, click here. 

"Leucanthemum Vulgare" by Penelope Gottlieb 

Also on display were multiple works from Penelope Gottlieb's "Invasive Species" series. At first blush, this work appears to depict a goose at home in its natural habitat. But when you look closely, you see that the plants are actually strangling the bird. All is not well in this world. 

The idea for the series arose when Gottlieb learned that invasive species of plants are the primary cause of extinction of other plants. Survival of the fittest -- or at least the most persistent. But here the innocuous looking oxtail daisy has expanded its deadly reach to take on the animal kingdom. Gottlieb envisions nature turning on nature, but there's more to the story. 

The foundation of Gottlieb's work is a print from John James Audubon's Birds of America series. While Audubon did much to advance our knowledge of bird life, the naturalist did more than his share of killing the species depicted in his work. He was known to have bragged about shooting more than 100 birds in one day while lamenting the impact of man on natural habitats. Apparently he skipped class the day they covered irony. By appropriating Audubon's work into her own, Gottlieb is adding a layer of complexity to her commentary about the impact of invasive species of both the plant and human variety on our world. For more on Gottlieb and her work, click here. And for an interesting article about Audubon, click here.

"Turn a Blind Eye" by Timothy Berg and Rebekah Myers (2018)

"Turn a Blind Eye" by Timothy Berg and Rebekah Myers is one of the more eye-catching works in the show. The title says it all. Environmental concerns are not the only thing we as a society have turned our backs on as we blithely go about our lives. 

The use of yellow canaries by the artists is a second reference in the exhibit to the canary in the coal mine.  The idiom comes from the practice of miners bringing caged birds with them into mines to detect noxious gases. The birds were more sensitive to the gases and would die from exposure to them before the miners were affected, giving them an opportunity to exit safely. The phrase is used today for someone providing an early warning about some type of hazard. Given this history, it makes sense that "Turn a Blind Eye" is sometimes comprised of a single glossy canary. To me, though, the inclusion of multiple birds is much more powerful as it highlights our collective turning away from societal issues. For more from Berg and Myers, click here. 

"The Last Three Stood Proud and Tall" 
by Gillie and Marc Schattner (2018)

In case you're wondering if the exhibit only contained works featuring birds, I'll leave you with this work by "eco-warriors" Gillie and Marc Schattner. The sculpture made me smile when I first saw it. The rhinos are posed in such a playful way. But of course the stacking of the rhinos is not a circus act but a commentary on the precarious balance between humans and nature. 

The sculpture depicts Sudan, Fatu and Najin, the only remaining northern white rhinos in the world when Gillie and Marc met them on a mission-driven trip to Kenya in 2018. The animals were living under armed guard to protect them from poachers engaged in rhino horn trafficking. They were too old to breed, so when they die the species will become extinct. Sudan, the male, died just three days after the artists completed their sculpture. For some beautiful photos of the rhino family, click here. 

This work is a smaller cast created as a study of sorts for the 17' public installation on display in Astor Place in NY in 2018. I saw the sculpture there, and it was imposing to say the least. For a view of the work installed in Astor Place, click here. The article contains a link to the augmented reality component of the work. A rhino walking around Astor Place? Crazy! For more on Gillie and Marc, click here. And if you happen to be in New York, they have an exhibit at the World Trade Center plaza through May 2024. How can you not love public art that's both educational and fun? 

For more information on the James Museum, click here. If you happen to be a member of Ringling Museum in Sarasota, admission to the James (and the Dali) is free during the month of September. Get out there and enjoy some art!