Pretty as a Picture
Artist Xavier Cortada is bringing
back the mangroves
by
Vanessa Garcia
The New Times, Miami, FL
Article Published Dec 7, 2006
Ever
wonder about those funny-looking, colorful creatures painted on the
concrete posts that shoulder I-395 and I-95 through downtown Miami? Well,
wonder no more: They're mangrove seedlings. In 2004 artist Xavier Cortada
led volunteers from Hands on Miami in painting them on more than 30
columns.
The fact that we no longer recognize
those "creatures" is precisely
Cortada's point. The paintings were supposed to be a metaphorical
reforestation of the area, which teemed with the trees a century ago,
recalling a time before the concrete was poured.
This year Cortada launched the
Reclamation Project, which runs through the conclusion of Art Basel. The
idea: to make the metaphorical downtown reforestation a literal one on
Miami Beach. Beginning with an exhibit at the Bass Museum of Art this past
April 22 (Earth Day), the first phase of the project delivered mangrove
seedlings throughout Miami Beach
businesses.
The 2500 adopted seedlings will be
displayed in storefronts during Basel. This coming January 20, the
seedlings will be collected at Books & Books on Lincoln Road and used to
reforest a portion of Key Biscayne and South Biscayne Bay. A week later,
volunteers will meet at Bear Cut Preserve in Key Biscayne to plant them. A
full-moon reception to thank the volunteers will close the project
February 3 at the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Key Biscayne.
"The sad thing," says Cortada, "is that
when we went looking for a place to plant them on Miami Beach, we couldn't
find a single place where the seawalls hadn't been barricaded." However,
the reclamation team is working to prepare Pine Tree Park's shoreline so
that a Miami Beach reforestation can occur next year, just in time for
Basel 2007.