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WE ARE PART
OF THE EARTH - ALL THINGS ARE CONNECTED: |
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| Paintings and Sculptures on the Environment
Inspired by the words of |
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| Chief Seattle - All Things Are Connected Show
by Mary Alice Harley |
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| 6-06-08 through 8-30-08 Division of Cultural
Affairs Gallery for |
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| Innovation & the Arts |
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| All Things are Connected is a collection of
paintings and sculptures |
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| inspired by a famous 1854 address by Chief
Seattle, a Native American |
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| leader. St. Petersburg Florida
artist, Mary Alice Harley speaks about |
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| this body of work "Being an
environmentalist, I was deeply moved upon |
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| first reading Chief Seattle's
address". The speech is considered by |
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| environmentalists to be one of the most
profound and beautiful statements |
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on the environment ever made. |
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| About the Speech |
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| Chief Seattle gave the address in response to
an offer to buy land |
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| adjoining the newly established town that
later became the City of Seattle, |
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| named in his honor. Although no original
transcription of the speech |
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| exists, multiple versions have appeared
since the late nineteenth century |
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| when it was first reproduced in a newspaper
article from the translated |
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| notes of an eye witness. During the
1960's and 1970's, the speech was |
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| republished numerous times and became an
inspirational cornerstone of |
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| the modern environmental movement. |
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The work in this exhibition is inspired by 11 important phrases
from the
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speech. Mary Alice Harley's mixed media works integrate the text
of these
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phrases into the pieces while drawing on the themes of the
environment.
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The pieces are also richly inspired by the materials used to create
them.
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Mary Alice Harley's sculptures incorporate natural elements such as
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driftwood, into the shapes of the animals' bodies.
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About the Artist
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Mary Alice Harley spent much of her career as a musician. After
her
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children were grown she began working in wood, then painting, and now
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she paints primarily in watercolor and acrylic. She is a
signature member
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of the Florida Watercolor Society (FWS) for whom she is incoming
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president; the International Acrylic Painters Assoc. (ISAP) and the
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Southern Watercolor Society (SWS).
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Natural materials and simplicity of line are trademarks of her wood
sculpture.
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Mary Alice's whimsical driftwood sculptures are widely collected and
her
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work is represented in several galleries and has been included in
numerous
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exhibitions. An avid gardener, Mary Alice Harley's St.
Petersburg yard
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was featured in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and has been
declared
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a wildlife habitat by the extension service of the University of
Florida.
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The Division of Cultural Affairs Gallery for Innovation and the Arts
is dedicated
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to showcasing Florida artwork that is educational and demonstrates
innovative ways
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of using visual media to convey new ideas and highlight often unheard
voices, like that of
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Chief Seattle. For more visit www.florida-arts.org
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