The Perilous Adventures of Mark Dion

This dazzling volume records the artist’s travels through the Lone Star State, a grand expedition for our time

Renowned artist Mark Dion (b. 1961) has a deep passion for history and the natural world. His installations mine the materials of the past to level an institutional critique in the present. Evoking the grand expeditionary journals of the 19th century, this singular volume records Dion’s latest work, produced through his crisscrossing of Texas and exploration of the Lone Star State. Dion retraces the travels of four artists and naturalists—John James Audubon, Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Charles Wright—who journeyed to the region over a century ago. Dion’s travel companions include preservationists, ranchers, botanists, a poet, a tarot card reader, and fellow artists who offer accompanying texts, while lavish illustrations feature the objects Dion made or collected during his travels alongside historical artworks and botanical specimens. The result is a stunning document of the American West, past and present.