Often times, people go about their day in a routine format. They go straight to and from work or school. Rarely, do these people ever take time to pause, look at their surroundings, and say to themselves, “Look at how pretty these falling leaves are. Look at this intricately woven spider web.” This is exactly what Jim Toia did.
Not only did Toia take time to absorb the beauties of nature, but he also tried to preserve the the beauties he saw in nature and transform them into art. In the NY Times article, “Pieces of Nature Preserved as Art at the New Jersey State Museum,” Tammy La Gorce talks about how Mr. Toia transfers spider webs among other things onto paper and preserve them as pieces of art for display. What Mr.Toia does to preserve these webs is that when he sees a spider web he will first scare off the spider. Then he would spray the spider web with oil stain and transfer the web onto paper. Below you can see one of Toia’s spider web arts.
The artist Jim Toia captures nature in his work, currently on display at the New Jersey State Museum. Here, “Galileo’s Gaze” (2007), oil and spiderweb on antique register paper.
As a “nature obsessed” artist, as the New York Times calls Toia, Toia saids that art is essentially all around us. His only job as an artist is to capture and preserve the art that nature has already been given to us. The method of preservation, however, I think is up for dispute.
I think that Toia’s art does not necessarily have to embody the physical aspect of the art that he is trying to capture. Every time that Toia sees a spider, he takes away the spiders web for art. The spider then becomes homeless and has to rebuild his home. Sometimes, Toia invades the home of the same spider multiple times just to obtain the same web. Although Toia states that he feels bad for taking the web of the spider, he usually just brushes the guilt off and says to the spider “Sorry to take it from you buddy. But you did a great job.” I understand that Toia at least isn’t killing the spider to obtain his form of art. But I personally think that Toia should change his medium of preserving art. Instead of physically taking the spider web, he could take pictures. Pictures still capture the essence of the beauty of nature that Toia is trying to create, even though the web is not actually on the photo. For his works of art like the “Ant Colny Cast” I think there art alternative ways to creating the cast, such as using a 3D printer, so it isn’t neccesary to cast the actual ant colony. Personally, I would rather Toia’s art not effect the natural habitats of the organisms that he is trying to capture.
“Ant Colony Cast”
Overall, I think that Toia’s creation of art using nature and what is in our surroundings is a great idea. I would love to see some of his works at the New Jersey State Museum. I think seeing the art works in person will certainly have a different effect on me.
Although Toia could have taken pictures of the spider web to recreate it, the amount of details and work that he will have to put into recreating the spider web would be great. Also he has to pick specific materials in order to recreate the spider web down to its fine details. There would be a lot of effort put into recreating the spider web. However it would just be easier to preserve the original spider web. It is true that Toia is disrupting the spiders in their lifestyle. But he is not harming them. The spider webs would have been disrupted later on by wind or other animals. Toia is actually preserving and displaying the spider’s hard work and art for a longer time.
His idea in capturing the beauty of nature is marvelous. However, the same can not be said about his ways in doing so. Upon first reading this post, I was expecting a painting or a photograph, being the optimist that I’m. However, I was greatly disturbed and disappointed to find out that he’s taking a piece of nature to display it. I find this act to be extremely perturbing and unnecessary to get a message across, unless his message is to destroy nature. Because? Art. How would he like it if I took half of his house down to the bricks to put on display and call it art? Ridiculous, isn’t it?
You state that, ” I understand that Toia at least isn’t killing the spider to obtain his form of art. But I personally think that Toia should change his medium of preserving art. Instead of physically taking the spider web, he could take pictures. ” I have ask whether or not you personally kill bugs you find within your house? If you do, I dont believe you can reasonably call him unethical and your actions ethical. I think Toia’s art work is enriched by the fact that he uses the actual, physical webs of the spiders. I don’t think a picture would come even close to the beauty he captures.
When I read the first few sentences, I was nodding my head in agreement thinking about how I, too, do not always take the time to appreciate my surroundings in nature. When you said that “This is exactly what Jim Toia did”, I was excited to hear how he was able to accomplish this. To be honest I was a bit disappointed, because his preservation (and thus, transformation) of nature to art is exactly what makes it almost “un-natural” (at least in my eyes). By transforming it, he takes certain natural phenomenons and puts them OUT of their natural contexts and then calls it art. But Nature as Art should be appreciated in its natural state. It doesn’t have to be transformed or preserved or presented at a museum. It just has to be appreciated! I guess I was looking for an “easy way out” on how I can learn to appreciate nature!
As students, we too often get too caught up in our daily routines to enjoy the nature around us. Our tunnel vision blinds us from the true beauty of the world around us and as such, we often take it for granted. Toia seeks to break that cycle with art as his weapon of choice. He believes that we can brighten our days by appreciating the innate beauty around us. While I do agree that perhaps Toia could 3-D print his ant tunnels and spider webs, I feel as though in doing so, he would distance himself from what he is trying to capture. Toia quite literally captures his subject in the most realistic way possible. A departure from this technique might weaken his statement as then his art would no longer be nature, but his interpretation of nature. Toia’s unconventional approach to art is truly fascinating, and I too hope to see his exhibit one day in person.
It’s very interesting how Toia has a unique perspective in natural art that no one usually pays attentions to. Its truly extraordinary how a simple spider web can depict an intricate display of creativity. Toia’s emulation of our surroundings is essential for humanity to be in harmony with it.
Sometimes we forget the simplest things that surround us is art; Toia has realized that before many could. Nature is already beautiful, so why not just take something that has already been created naturally. His work is simple, but very moving. I do agree with you that Toia shouldn’t have destroy the homes of animals that took the time to build and live in. There are alternative ways of presenting art and taking an animals’ home isn’t necessarily the best answer.
Toia has a very interesting approach to art. His goal is to capture the beauty of nature that people often neglect. However, his “creations” could actually be considered plagiarism. He captures the spider webs, but he does not make them. Toia steals the webs that spiders have labored over and calls them his own. Although he tries to preserve the beauty of our environment, he is actually disturbing it. He takes away spiders’ homes in order to take the credit for the beautiful webs that they have created. I agree that Toia could find a different way to fulfill his aspiration to maintain the beauty of nature.
I just just shocked at the concept that we take the beauty of everyday things in our lives for granted. The nature around us is so complex and sophisticated but we never actually set any time aside to appreciate and absorb the details in their full glory. For example, a simple cobweb that would have been aside as nothing out of the ordinary, as Jim Toia shows, isnt as simple as it looks. Once one actually focuses on a spider web they could fully understand the complexity and elaborateness it possesses.
What an interesting and controversial method of creating art! The comments on this article are clearly divided between those who believe as you do that his technique is unethical and those who believe that the webs would have been disturbed by nature anyway and this way the web can be preserved forever. I immediately thought, as Zuzanna stated, that this is a form of plagiarism. Although the creators are not human, the artist is taking advantage of their work and not providing any compensation. It does feel ridiculous to say that about a spider, but it is still another wasted hour for the spider to create a new web and their lifetime is not nearly as long as ours. But it is a fascinating idea to preserve a spider web and the tactile nature he does it in adds a personal touch. It think it’s also interesting that even though his pieces are based off nature, they are not an environmental political commentary, seemingly the opposite.