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The Museum of Jurassic Technology's David Wilson

From: M. Travis DiNicola
Length: 13:23

An interview with David Wilson, the creator and curator of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles. Read the full description.

Default-piece-image-0 David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology has been the subject of many academic and popular articles and books, including "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder : Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology" by Lawrence Weschler. Wilson's museum is a cross between a natural history museum and an artist's installation. It is a museum that functions as a magic trick. One is never certain what is real and what is an illusion. The exhibits explore phenomenon that is possible, if not always probable. Though Wilson will never actually admit that he has made any of this up, he does come close to acknowledging in this interview with M. Travis DiNicola that the experience visitors have in his museum may be similar to what an audience experiences when watching a magical illusion performed. Originally broadcast on WFYI (Indianapolis) "The Art of the Matter" on 3/27/04.

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Piece Description

David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology has been the subject of many academic and popular articles and books, including "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder : Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology" by Lawrence Weschler. Wilson's museum is a cross between a natural history museum and an artist's installation. It is a museum that functions as a magic trick. One is never certain what is real and what is an illusion. The exhibits explore phenomenon that is possible, if not always probable. Though Wilson will never actually admit that he has made any of this up, he does come close to acknowledging in this interview with M. Travis DiNicola that the experience visitors have in his museum may be similar to what an audience experiences when watching a magical illusion performed. Originally broadcast on WFYI (Indianapolis) "The Art of the Matter" on 3/27/04.

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I Want to Know More About David Wilson

I found the intro a little long. But once the interview started I was sold. Perhaps it helps if one knows a bit about the MJT before listening, but I found it to be very interesting material. I suppose this is better for someone looking for information about David Wilson, as opposed to an introduction. But the introduction has been done before. There is no need for that. This is not about the MJT as much as it is about David Wilson.

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Review of The Museum of Jurassic Technology's David Wilson

In this 13+ minute interview, M. Travis DiNicola talks with David Wilson from the Museum of Jurassic Technology. The piece starts with a very long read into the two-way. The interview rambles from considering the museum’s microscopic works, to a long discussion on micro-miniature artists and engineers who push themselves beyond limits to do such things as carve sculptures of the Pope’s bust into individual strands of human hair, to very tangential material about some famous magician (who I have not heard of) who is a big fan and supporter of the museum. What was the purpose of this interview? I certainly was left with the impression that this is a very unique museum—but I got little sense of what I would see or experience if I were to visit. This topic would have been better handled with feature report treatment. I wanted to hear a simple general overview of the museum, then some of the peculiarities that a visitor might encounter and then introduce the genius behind it.

Broadcast History

Originally broadcast on WFYI (Indianapolis) "The Art of the Matter" on 3/27/04.

Related Website

http://www.mjt.org