Earth Gallery One
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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 character of the resulting new relationships and model the cultural improvements the new civilization will require. Therefore I thought that the arts would have to add a new layer of utility in order to participate and contribute directly to the formation of the cultural and aesthetic properties of the new global civilization. Earth Gallery One is a powerful model of a work of art creating a new layer of utility while expanding the reach of the work of art into a more clearly defined reconciliation between art and life. In fact this project so blurred the perceived gap that separated art and life in the past that the idea of a gap between them became irrelevant. What follows is an embarrassingly condensed presentation of a number of key elements of the project that I think are sufficient to provide an insight into the complexity of this work and of the anatomy of the reconciled work of art and life. Earth Gallery One is a complex multi-layer work of art composed of many integral elements that were created over a period of seven years. In order to maximize brevity I have selected seven elements that I think will convey the breath and reach of Earth Gallery One. 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 Earth Gallery One sought to introduce an extended time line connection between the past, present and future of the human presence in the immediate environment of the installation. I therefore wanted the visual elements to somewhat represent the reconciliatory effect of the work to art and life, by embracing the entire biosphere, hence, Earth Gallery One. The connection with the past was made possible by including cultural aspects of early native American cultures and in particular that of the earliest inhabitants of the area, the "Calusa" people and by treating the design of the sculptural components of the work as "TOTEMS" or totemic figures including Calusa iconography in their own sentry the "Calusa Sentry." This project like most of my oeuvre has not yet been a subject of critical analysis. This is mainly because of my voluntary isolation from the mainstream and the exploratory nature of my work. |
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| "Homage to the Orange River Valley" 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 Installation Index.) |
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"Vanishing Floridian" debuted on November 13th, 1983 as the centerpiece of the 2nd 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. |
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| "Night Float" 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" captained by 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. |
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| "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 installation index) |
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Earth Gallery One continues on the next page |