In watching the interviews, I found the most interesting artists and works to be ones that experimented with non-traditional, found media and materials. One of the artists, Mark Dion, used found materials to show “windows into the past”. I liked that he went to flea markets and antique stores to find old objects to use in his works, because I also enjoy going to these places and like the idea of giving old things new meanings. Another big focus of his work was his concern about the destruction of natural spaces and the environment. However, I felt some of his work contradicted this idea because he took a large downed tree, that he said housed animals, plants, and bugs, and moved it to an indoor greenhouse in a city, taking apart and removing part of nature with his work. However, I do understand that this was also a statement about human detachment from nature.
Another artist I explored was Theaster Gates, whose art focuses on the collections people have and how that expresses their personality. I enjoyed his pieces that contain magazines and books arranged to mimic a painting. It used a material that you wouldn’t associate with painting, while simultaneously making the viewer wonder what information they contain, almost wanting to take apart the art piece to find out.