By the end of the 70's I had concluded that the challenges of an emerging global civilization would require an art form that could examine the aesthetic of the challenges and to model the cultural improvements required to respond to them.

Therefore it stands to reason that in the midst of an emerging new environment, what we are really pursuing is a new narrative for the human story that suits the emerging conditions upon which we, humanity, are placed at this moment in history and that quite sensibly determine our direction into the future.

Earth Gallery One was a  experimental model of a work of art employing a number of new aesthetic considerations as tools used to find the cultural building blocks of that new narrative and its implications as art and life.

Following is a brief look at some of the projects which contributed to the formation of the aesthetic basis upon which the narrative that was sought is manifesting itself now, decades later.

1. The sculptural centerpiece " Homage to the Orange River Valley" unveiled in 1983  

2. "Vanishing Floridian"

3. "Night Float"

4. "Manatee Alert" launched in 1987

5. The "Docent Sentries" unveiled in 1989

6. The "Mills Manatee Mile." unveiled in 1989

7." Earth Gallery One, the solution at dawn.1990"

 "Homage to the Orange River Valley"

This project demonstrated that art when placed within the context of Nature (life) to address an specific function, provides a clear insight into our capacity to reconcile human activity with Natural processes to mutual benefit.

Commonly known as the manatee Monument  This element is the center piece or principal totem of the installation. It was unveiled in 1982 within a wildlife refuge near the mouth of the Orange River on the Caloosahatchee River. The work was dedicated to Dr. Jesse R. White, a pioneer of manatee conservation,  veterinary medicine and captive breeding methodology.

By the close of the 20th century the work had been visited by millions of people and seen by millions more through the pages of National Geographic and Reader's Digest. This work is explored in greater detail on its own page (see Homage to the Orange River Valley on the index.)

"Vanishing Floridian"

This project was an exercise into the actual character and process of cultural reconciliation between humanity and the world with an specific purpose and addressing an specific environmental concern.

Presented on November 13^th, 1983 as the centerpiece of the 2^nd Annual Welcome Home Manatee event. This component of the Earth Gallery One model, addressed the issues of continuity in the creation of a cultural base focused on on a conservation initiative. In this case the conservation of the West Indian Manatee.

The sculpture, placed on a bed of flowers atop a barge, led a boat parade to the site of the “Homage to the Orange River Valley” The public art event announced caution to boaters of the arrival of the wintering manatee herds to the warm waters of the power plant discharge. It was estimated that the event reached a viewing audience of over a million people via television and written media.

In 1986 Tiité presented the “Vanishing Floridian” to the children of the Michigan Elementary School (now Michigan Montessori Elementary) following a statewide tour promoting the conservation of the West Indian Manatee. The manatee became the school mascot and continues to serve as the focus of their ongoing environmental education programs.

"Night Float"

This project established the role of art in the creation of tradition as a celebration of newly acquired cultural feature in order to sustain a level of reconciliation that between us and the west Indian Manatee.

1984, a 36 Feet long Aluminum structure, illuminated tubing integrated to a computerized light animation and sound  program. the work was mounted on the tour boat the "Wofford" piloted by Captain  Jim Pledger.

Night Float, led the 3rd  annual "welcome home manatee" night boat parade. The computerized expertise was a collaboration with Randy Stack and Peter Kreutline who worked out the light animation problems. Night float was a televised event widely covered by local media.

Night Float was featured again on the 4th annual celebrations as a flash back in video form, broadcasted as part of the program which featured a canoe pilgrimage to the Principal totem and a torch lighting ceremony at the site.

This component added a dimension of pageantry to the parade an demonstrated the immediacy of the work of art to the actual process conservation from a cultural stand point.

"Manatee Alert"

This project clarified the cultural myth regarding a gap between art and life. By art and life operating seamlessly as one, a new relationship between us humans and the world could be perceived suggesting the presence of a whole new level of consciousness new to the planet and available to us.

Manatee Alert was the active element of Earth Gallery One, so complete was the penetration of art in to the reality of the conservation initiative, that I found difficulty convincing anyone particularly the media and government that Manatee Alert was in fact a work of art.

Initially, I basically drew a conceptual canvas spanning three Florida counties, Lee as the focal point, Collier and Charlotte counties as peripheral overflow. Then I treated the work as a kind of four dimensional object and introduced a number of elements in different media as one would do with a work of installation art.

The result was one of the most effective voluntary conservation programs  on behalf of the West Indian Manatee to date. This project is discussed briefly on its own page (see index)

Earth Gallery One continues on the next page