Nurture Nature Center Unveils New Mural
When you buy a new piece of furniture or a new painting, you have to ask yourself "Where am I going to put this?"
The Nurture Nature Center was recently offered a new installation – a mural that is 24 feet long and 8 feet tall. Luckily, we knew exactly where to put it. "Manifest Destin" by Alexis Rockman is the latest addition to our Science Theater on the 3rd floor of 518 Northampton Street.
The mural, printed on canvas, is the only copy of an original oil painting by Alexis Rockman. It is, in a word, spectacular. Every time we look at the painting, which depicts New York City in the year 5000, we notice another detail – a salmon with two tails or a roseate spoonbill flying in the distance.
The mural has visitors to NNC talking and we want you to join in the conversation. We are going to write this blog in two parts because we are curious to hear your reactions to the painting without having any background information.
Next week, we will post Alexis Rockman’s vision of the painting and you can see how your perceptions compare with his intentions.
For now, please comment below. What do you think the painting is showing? Does the painting invoke a sense of hope or Armageddon?
If you want to experience the mural in person, please visit the Nurture Nature Center at 518 Northampton Street during our open house from 10am-1pm on Wednesdays or 1pm-4pm on Saturdays.
Rosemary B
5:48 pm on Saturday, March 3, 2012
Looks like the fear of global warming on steroids. Does not evoke hope in me, but it is very well done.
High-On-Lehigh
10:23 pm on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
I wonder why Rockman chose to contemplate 5000, which is so far away - farther in the future than biblical times are in the past! Why not 3000? or 2500? or 2300? Based on the current rapid rise in coal consumption in Asia, I think we will be morphing into a nightmare planet sooner rather than later -
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/39663/?mod=chthumb
A similar artistic vision of a dystopian future is presented in the 2001 Spielberg film "A.I.-Artificial Intelligence"-- NNC might consider a screening and discussion of that moving, thought-provoking film.