15
Gopher Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus)
collected in Santa Barbara County,
perhaps the largest gopher snake collection in the world
Museum of Systematics and Ecology,
Biological Sciences
Victory of Samothrace
Plaster Cast
Art Studio
Hand
(a detail from Michelangelo's Pieta)
Art Studio
Eye
(a detail of Michelangelo's David)
Art Studio
Directly across the room from one another, the photograph of the swans and the case of gopher snakes are each reflected in the glass surface of the other. In the first, we have a two-dimensional representation of animals in a natural history museum's display case, while in the other a tiny percentage of UCSB's vast gopher snake collection is shown. The forms of the coiled snakes and the serpentine necks of the swans also reflect and resonate with one another, demonstrating how juxtapositions created by a collection such as this encourage visual comparisons as a primary tool for understanding the world.
On top of the gopher case is a plaster-cast reproduction of the Victory of Samothrace, another white winged form, as well as plaster casts of the hand from Michelangelo's Pieta and the eye from his David. Placed across the room from the bust of Dante, the photograph of swans and the raven, this grouping suggests a comparison between the history of art and the history of literature to some viewers.
