Volcanic Dance 2012

Editor: Laddie John Dill’s "Volcanic Dance," made in 2012. It looks like a miniature landscape or stage, constructed from metal, glass, and other media. It really makes me consider our relationship with the planet. What’s your interpretation of this artwork? Curator: What I find compelling is the inherent tension Dill creates through his deliberate material choices. Think about the juxtaposition: industrial metal versus fragile glass, raw earthiness against manufactured perfection. How does that resonate with you? Editor: I think that using the contrast between natural and industrial helps make it visually engaging, but I’m curious why he chose *these* specific materials, and organized them in this specific way? Curator: Consider Dill's Southern California context. His art engages directly with the legacy of Light and Space, yet subverts its pristine aesthetic. He embraces the messy processes of production, almost reveling in the discarded byproducts of industrial society, to echo the transformation inherent to the Earth itself. The ‘Volcanic Dance’ then becomes an act of cultural making—or maybe *re*making. What labor and societal processes come to your mind when viewing this, then? Editor: Well, considering California’s reliance on both the tech industry, with all of its raw material extraction, and its stunning natural landscapes, that contrast between production and… natural destruction… rings really true. And I suppose that’s highlighted even more by how “contained” everything is, all on that metal table! Curator: Precisely! The table further emphasizes this aspect of industrial production by suggesting that nature itself can be studied, controlled, and consumed within capitalist systems. Ultimately, I believe Dill prompts a reflection on the materials themselves—glass, metal, aggregate—and our complex relationship with consumption. Editor: Seeing the raw and fabricated elements alongside one another is so insightful now! Thanks for sharing that viewpoint! Curator: It also highlights the ways that art making in itself involves the processing and consumption of matter in today’s context. A new perspective for both of us, perhaps?