mixed media construction
approximately: 32" x 55" x 50" • base: 37" x 59" x 55"
MVSEVM is a mini-meta interpretation of the Smithsonian (five feet by five feet, and six-feet tall on its pedestal), filled with some grand ideas. Its galleries touch on themes like the use of the Patent Office building as a hospital during the Civil War and the role of the Smithsonian as a repository for specimens from the Wilkes Expedition to the western shores of North America. Jewel-like collections of eggs, butterflies, birds and even a quivering jellyfish are tucked into drawers. Patent models hark back to the building’s origins, but instead of using Thomas Edison’s light bulb, the droll Mr. Beck used one of Jasper Johns’s light bulb images. Along one wall, rows of hauntingly disembodied eyes hang in delicate frames, to be worn under a lover’s clothing as a sign of devotion.
“His work affects people in many ways,” said Elizabeth Broun, the museum’s director. “There is the first initial giddy fun of it all. But the more you look, the more you realize how much has gone into these major pieces, including deep thought about what a museum represents. It’s a very rich work with many allusions, histories, and reflections on what we value, and why.” by Kathryn Shattuck.