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Collage of five diverse artworks from the Hammer Museum Collections side by side. From left to right: 1) Contemporary painting of two embracing figures with surreal elements. 2) Post-impressionist style painting of trees with vibrant blues and greens. 3) Black and white illustration of a face with intricate patterns. 4) Japanese woodblock print style image of a figure in a checkered robe. 5) Photograph of a couple dancing, the woman in a black dress and the man in white

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Digital Archive Take It or Leave It: Institution, Image, Ideology
Art Mark Dion, Killers Killed
Killers Killed, by Mark Dion, 1994–2007

Mark Dion, Artist
Killers Killed , 1994–2007

Medium
Tree, taxidermic animals, tar, galvanized aluminum, foam, paint
Dimensions
128 x 65 x 60 in. (325.1 x 165.1 x 152.4 cm)
Credit Line
Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Covered with tar and hung from a dead tree branch "planted" in a galvanized metal bucket, an assortment of predators and vectors pay their penance in perpetuity both in the sculpture itself and in our culture: animals such as coyotes and rats are the frequent target of planned mass executions due to their perceived threat to public health and safety. Rounded up and killed for crimes no greater than following their natural survival instincts, these animals exist as outlaws forced to live on the margins of society. Killers Killed points to the somewhat arbitrarily assigned category shared by these animals, implicating humans as the most insidious predators of all.