Wax, Wings, and Swarms: Insects and their Products as Art Media Barrett Anthony Klein Pupating Lab Biology Department, University of Wisconsin—La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601 email:
[email protected] When citing this paper, please use the following: Klein BA. Submitted. Wax, Wings, and Swarms: Insects and their Products as Art Media. Annu. Rev. Entom. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020821-060803 Keywords art, cochineal, cultural entomology, ethnoentomology, insect media art, silk 1 Abstract Every facet of human culture is in some way affected by our abundant, diverse insect neighbors. Our relationship with insects has been on display throughout the history of art, sometimes explicitly, but frequently in inconspicuous ways. This is because artists can depict insects overtly, but they can also allude to insects conceptually, or use insect products in a purely utilitarian manner. Insects themselves can serve as art media, and artists have explored or exploited insects for their products (silk, wax, honey, propolis, carmine, shellac, nest paper), body parts (e.g., wings), and whole bodies (dead, alive, individually, or as collectives). This review surveys insects and their products used as media in the visual arts, and considers the untapped potential for artistic exploration of media derived from insects. The history, value, and ethics of “insect media art” are topics relevant at a time when the natural world is at unprecedented risk. INTRODUCTION The value of studying cultural entomology and insect art No review of human culture would be complete without art, and no review of art would be complete without the inclusion of insects. Cultural entomology, a field of study formalized in 1980 (43), and ambitiously reviewed 35 years ago by Charles Hogue (44), clearly illustrates that artists have an inordinate fondness for insects.