Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2015.

The Owl of Minerva Takes Flight in the Dusk

Artist Steffen Dam (Danish, b. 1961)

CultureDanish

Date2015

MediumBlown, sculpted, cast, fused, and engraved glass with metal, taxidermy, and wood

Dimensions42 7/8 × 38 3/16 × 8 1/4 in. (108.9 × 97 × 21 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase and gift of Scott and Debbi Waitzer

Object number2015.7

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 204

DescriptionA wooden shadow box with scientific-looking glass elements produced in a variety of techniques. A faux taxidermied owl sits atop the box's top right corner. The title for the work is taken from German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's preface to his Philosophy of Right: “The owl of Minerva only takes flight at dusk.”
Label TextSteffen Dam Danish, b. 1961 The Owl of Minerva Takes Flight in the Dusk, 2015 Blown, sculpted, cast, fused, and engraved glass with metal, taxidermy, and wood Steffen Dam filled this cabinet of curiosity, or Wunderkammer, with imaginary glass specimens. Such collections of natural and cultural curios became popular in the mid-1500s and, like mini-museums, were meant to delight viewers while increasing their knowledge about the world. The work’s title, however, raises questions about what we can learn from Dam’s fantastical objects. The title comes from the philosophy of Georg Hegel (1770–1831), who believed that historical knowledge (symbolized by the owl) only takes shape as we look back from the end of time, or at “dusk.” In short, what can we learn from Dam’s fictional specimens? Do they help us understand the past or perhaps inspire our imagination about the future? Museum purchase and gift of Scott and Debbi Waitzer 2015.7 ProvenancePurchased from the artist's studio, Ebeltoft, Denmark, via Heller Gallery, New York, by the Chrysler Museum of Art, June 2015.Published ReferencesCorning Museum of Glass, "Recent Important Acquisitions," _New Glass Review_ 37 (2016): 106. Diane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), pg. 206-207.