Jennifer Angus: The Ant and the Grasshopper, Part 2

Fox, deer and river otter (with the most adorable face)

I promised in my last post something from Jennifer Angus' exhibit that was even more unexpected than her beautiful insect art. The full title of the show is "The Ant and the Grasshopper and Other Stories." The primary "other story" is told in a dining room filled with taxidermied animals that are both guests at the table and decoration on the walls (surrounded, of course, by bugs).  It is surprisingly compelling.

This dinner party is only the second Angus has created and includes animals primarily found in Florida. Her inspiration was the nursery school rhyme, "There an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." As you surely recall, the little old lady had a rather remarkable constitution that enabled her to swallow a fly, a spider, a dog, a cat, a goat and a cow, all without harm. It was a horse that finally did her in. (As an aside, the song was recorded by, among others, Pete Seeger and Burl Ives of "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" fame and was reportedly included in the season finale of "Desperate Housewives." I would love to know the context for that.) Angus shared in her talk that the installation is intended as a commentary on overconsumption and treating nature as a commodity.

Squirrel and racoon --The photo reminded my sister of an American Girl exhibit with the dolls propped up at the table

Contrary to common practice, Angus' exhibit does not include wall cards with explanations of her art. She wants visitors to reach their own conclusions. But Angus didn't leave exhibitgoers totally on their own. Each room contains a stack of calling cards with a line from a fable to encourage the thought process. The card in the dinner party room has a quote from "The Fox and the Lion" that reads, "Acquaintance softens prejudices." That's a moral that hits home in today's world. And of course it's perfect for the exhibit. Angus has created an environment in which these animals co-exist quite happily. More importantly, human visitors quickly overcome any reluctance to engage with the animals and the insects once they set aside their preconceived notions. It's rather brilliant.

In case you're wondering, most of the animals are on loan from a Jacksonville taxidermist. When a few seats at the table were still empty, Angus put out some feelers for additional bodies. An employee at the St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts volunteered some animals from his personal collection. Even Angus was surprised by the serendipity.

As for the insects, Angus has built her collection over a period of 20 years. It's quite a process. Upon their arrival from her dealer, the specimens have to be rehydrated. She carefully moves them from the cardboard on which they came onto a floating piece of Styrofoam in a plastic container. Three or four days later, the insect is flexible and Angus carefully manipulates it into the desired position. With the passage of a few days, the insect is stiff and ready for its close up. They are affixed to the displays using special etymological pins.

Lust -- with Goliath Beetles

The exhibit has so much to appreciate that it would take hours to give it its due. Every display has significance. Take, for instance, Angus' boxed vignettes portraying the seven deadly sins.

This lush tableau featuring the gorgeous Goliath Beetle represents lust. (I am not kidding. This black and white beetle is seriously beautiful.) The pink tones are a reference to the cochineal bug which -- trigger warning -- is used in all sorts of foods and makeup. Cochineal eat red cactus berries and yield carmine, a red dye, when they are crushed. A dye from a related insect has been used as a paint pigment since the Middle Ages.

There are memento mori cases with cow skulls that made me think of Georgia O'Keeffe's art. In addition to being visually interesting, they are a reminder of the important role of bugs in the decomposition process.

There are cases in which insects with tiny magnifying glasses study smaller specimens. It's possible, Angus noted, that those smaller bugs are in turn focused on insects too tiny for the human eye to see. The card in this room contained a quote from "The Astronomer" that read, "We should never look so high as to miss seeing the things that are around us."

The exhibit included a number of clocks like the one here with drawings reminiscent of the Victorian era of which Angus is so fond. In addition to standard wall clocks, there's a cuckoo clock that does in fact chime on the hour. Angus explained during her talk that the clocks are a reference to the crazy times in which we live.

"The Grasshopper and the Ant -- and Other Stories" will continue at the St. Petersburg Museum of Art through January 5th. Rarely have I seen a more unexpected exhibit. It's a must-see if you're in the area. Click here for more information.