Analysis Of Dust By Tony Oursler

Art made with video is not the type of artwork that comes to mind when a museum is mentioned. Combining video with sculpture is a very unique form of art that a few explore successfully such as Tony Oursler. Oursler has taken art into another realm with video that could have not been thought imaginable as he brings his sculptures to life and gives them personality while touching on topics that are considered part of people’s private lives and human behavior. (Reservechannel). Sitting and observing one of Oursler’s sculptures evokes a different experience in comparison to looking at an inanimate sculpture or two dimensional artwork.
Oursler is a native New Yorker and earned his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts
The quote “dust to dust” from the bible, is about how people are born from the Earth and return to it after death and Osler is trying to convey that with the title (Broad). Osler’s decision to make the sculpture an oversized molecule induces more emphasis to the title, but also an attempt to make the viewers feel physically present with the artwork. The large scale exaggerates the insignificant human lifespan and size in comparison to the age and size of the universe (Broad). Projecting human body parts onto the sculpture makes a direct connection between the human body and “dust to dust”. When a human dies, the physical body is what goes back into the earth and is dealt with differently around the world. In many cultures around the world, the human body is handled differently once a person dies, but all in the end it is returned to the earth either physically or spiritually, even both in some cases. Even though, the title has distinct ties to a biblical quote, the idea of returning to the earth is a universal concept and allows a cross cultural understand of the human condition and the physical form. The audio plays the sound a baby crying that hints towards the beginning of life and later on a raspy voice says the phrase, “annihilation into pure evaporation”, which connects the concept of life and death. Crying is one of the first
A fatal car accident can happen if a wrong turn is made or even the decision to try an addictive drug are experiences that make people realise that nobody is superhuman and can turn to “Dust”. A human being is vulnerable to many things and Oursler recognizes this. He mentions addictive items in the audio as well as suggestive thoughts that can be about personal identity: “...cigarettes, drugs,” and “You’re this, you’re that, you just don’t know, huh?”. Cigarettes and drugs are obvious choices that people make and can become slaves to. People just cannot wait until their next cigarette or have to take frequent smoke breaks. More extreme drugs like heroin and meth can put people over the edge and even kill people in order to obtain. The hold these drugs can have on people, only others can imagine, but it is a reality for them. Minds can be obscured by addictive substances and they can be molded by the environment. “You’re this, you’re that, you just don’t know, huh?” can be tied to the notion people are products of their environment. People have the urge to fit in and when a clique, group, or trend makes itself known, there are people who want to be associated with them or the group. The individual then decides if that is what they want to be a part of or their interest gravitates toward something else. People are manipulated by the environment and “it’s become a dark time very quickly” (Licht