Field Museum, Drawer of Bluebirds, various dates

Terry Evans, artist

born 1944

Field Museum, Drawer of Bluebirds, various dates, 2000

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: Iris print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 55.9 x 43.1 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 22 x 16 15/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 60.8 x 50.8 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 23 15/16 x 19 15/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 32 x 24 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2012.0061

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

After years exploring prairie landscapes from foot and air, Terry Evans visited Chicago's Field Museum to excavate their collections of prairie flora and fauna. Her act of photographing preserved specimens emphasizes how important the creations of collections and taxonomies are to the way humans understand and have understood the world.

Exhibition Label:
"Cabinets of Curiosity: Musing About Collections," Jun-2006, Joseph Keehn and Madeline Rislow
Between 1998 and 2002, photographer Terry Evans mined the collections of the Field Museum in Chicago for her series, "Prairie Specimens." This series includes photographic images of pressed plant specimens, drawers of birds, snakes preserved in jars, insects pinned in boxes, and this swan, swaddled for safe storage for over a century. Evans's photographs invoke our response to the beauty inherent in natural forms, but further invites us to reflect on the nature of our intervention as collectors, scientists and curators.