HYPERALLERGIC
By Allison Meier
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Mark Dion, “The Serpent Before the Fall” (2014), installed in ‘Back to Eden’
at the Museum of Biblical Art (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted) |
NEW YORK---In a 1483 German Bible, the Garden of Eden is depicted as a corralled green circle; Adam and Even are ejected from its manicured grass to a hilly wilderness, with a trail leading off into the unknown. This idealized interpretation of original sin sits alongside more modern takes on our relationship with our environment — where the downfall of humanity is much less refined — in the Museum of Biblical Art’s (MOBIA) "
Back to Eden: Contemporary Artists Wander the Garden." At the preview for the exhibition, MOBIA Director Richard P. Townsend explained that he sees it as important to “show contemporary art as integral in the profound impact the Bible has had on tradition” by “looking critically at the good and bad.” [
link]
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| 1483 German Bible |