[Coral-List] Coral: Symbol, Substance, and Significance / A conference in NYC / October 29 31, 2009
Lisa Koenigsberg
lisa.koenigsberg at artinitiatives.com
Tue Oct 20 14:04:23 EDT 2009
Initiatives in Art and Culture
REGISTER NOW
Coral: Symbol, Substance, and Significance
October 29 October 31, 2009
UPDATED SPEAKER LIST
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT EXTENDED through October 23, 2009
Student discount available
Coral is a comprehensive examination of this
astonishing organism, exploring its place in both
in the natural world and in the realm of culture,
and considering what is being done to protect and preserve it.
Beginning with the role of coral within the reef
and the criticality of coral reefs to ocean
ecology and thus to human existence we turn to
forces threatening reef survival, and to efforts
of scientists, governments, and nongovernmental
organizations to protect and restore them. We
address laws and treaties formulated to govern
trade in coral, a substance that has been termed
"too precious to wear." We examine coral in
history, both its evolving associations over time
and its traditional place in the wunderkammer,
and explore its changing role and use in jewelry,
art, and fashion, with specific discussion of the
mimetic use of coral alternatives and the
symbolic use of the coral motif as an
inspiration. Initiatives in Art and Culture has a
long-standing commitment to explorations of
cultural patrimony and of art and ornament. In
Coral, we again celebrate the object by placing
it in the broadest possible context. The
conference, organized by Initiatives in Art and
Culture, will explore issues relating to coral's
place in the natural and cultural worlds.
Among those who have agreed to speak are: Michael
Kowalski, Chairman and CEO of Tiffany & Co.;
Richard E. Dodge, professor and dean, Nova
Southeastern University (NSU) Oceanographic
Institute and Executive Director of the Centers
Coral Reef Institute (NCRI); Kacky Andrews,
Director, Coral Reef Conservation Program,
National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Committee (NOAA);
Andrew Baker, Assistant Professor of Marine
Biology and Fisheries, University of Miami; Dawn
Martin, president of SeaWeb; Christine Dawson,
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental
and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State;
Michele Oka Doner, artist whose breadth of
artistic production encompasses public art,
sculpture, furniture, jewelry, and functional
objects, a significant number of which draw
inspiration from coral and the sea; Barbara Best,
Coastal Resources and Policy Advisor, Office of
Natural Resources Management, Bureau for Economic
Growth, Agriculture and Trade, U.S Agency for
International Development; Ilze K. Berzins,
Executive Vice President, Animal Health,
Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd
Aquarium; Ken Nedimyer, Founder and President,
Coral Restoration Foundation; Susan J. Torntore,
authority on the Corallium industries in Italy
and Taiwan; Steve D'Esposito, president RESOLVE
and formerly president, Earthworks Action; Billy
Causey, Regional Director, Florida Keys National
Sanctuary; Caleb McClennen, Director, Marine
Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society;
Crawford Allan, Regional Director, TRAFFIC North
America, World Wildlife Fund; Rebecca Bratspies,
Professor of Environmental Law, City University
New York Law School; Mercer R. Brugler,
Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Program,
University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Godfrey
Reggio, producer and director, who is prominent
in the film world for his Qatsi trilogy and for
Anima Mundi, (music for all by Philip Glass)
which convey a humanist philosophy about the
earth; Marilyn F. Cooperman, jeweler whose work
often employs aquatic motifs; Amedeo
Scognamiglio, jeweler, whose family has been
based in Torre del Greco, a center of the
creation of jewelry from seashells, corals and
semiprecious stones; Stephen Dweck, jeweler whose
work is inspired by minerals and a love for the
natural world; Janie Schoenborn, design director,
Lilly Pulitzer; David Wolfe, creative director
and chief forecaster of Doneger and Co.; Sarah
Graham, jeweler whose point of departure for her
coral inspired work are plates in Ernst Haeckels
Art Forms in Nature; and Géza von Habsburg, an
art historian who has served as chairman of two
auction houses and whose numerous publications
include Princely Treasures (1997) and several definitive volumes on Fabergé
_________________________________________________
To register on-line: go to: www.acteva.com/go/coral
Fee: The conference fee is $250; an early
registration discount of $195 is available until
October 23, 2009. A discounted rate of $100 is
available for students. For more information:
<mailto:info at artinitiatives.com>info at artinitiatives.com
or call: 646-485-1952 or visit www.artinitiatives.com
__________________________________________________
We are grateful for generous support received
from Tiffany & Co., NOAA Coral Conservation Reef
Program, SeaWeb, The Henry Foundation, The John
G. Shedd Aquarium, The Louis and Lena Minkoff
Foundation, The Magazine ANTIQUES, and The Exeter Group (as of 10/5/09).
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