Official uVu Blog

More Than Jaws

SHARK, an exhibition at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University takes visitors on a journey through over 70 artists' perspectives on these fascinating creatures from predator to victim to pop culture icon. The exhibition has been organized by the Museum of Art and curated by acclaimed marine artist and author, Richard Ellis. It is being presented in association with Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center.

On view May 12, 2012 through Jan. 6, 2013, the multi-media exhibition features drawings, paintings, photography, sculptures and videos by artists from all over the world.

"Sharks have long fascinated man; some ancient societies even revered them as gods. In my art, I pay homage to their graceful beauty," said Ellis. "This exhibition delves into a variety of issues in an examination of the human impact on sharks. It explores the shark as a predator and its portrayal in culture, the importance of shark conservation, the biology of the myriad of shark species, and the thrill of shark encounters."

"SHARK is a stunning and timely exhibition about how the shark has entered the public imagination and how artists, over the decades, have portrayed one of the most fascinating, vulnerable, and misunderstood marine animals on the planet," said Irvin Lippman, executive director of the Museum of Art.

 

Richard Ellis: Curator
Sara Brenes: The Shark Whisperer

Lost (Generations) and Found (Objects)

An interesting Friday we had at uVu as we traveled north to the Boca Raton Museum of Art, only to enter and imaginary world courtesy of Colombian artist Federico Uribe and his fanciful world of animals (both wild and domesticated) made entirely of found objects.  As he explains "People kill trees to make books, I disassemble books to make trees."  In this clip meet Mr. Uribe and explore his "world."

 

 

 

Later that evening we grabbed a few minutes backstage at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road to talk with the cast of the New World School of the Arts' production of Spring Awakening

 

 

Down Where the Tradewinds Play

SUBTROPICAL CITIES 2011: Subtropical Urbanism Beyond Climate Change is an international conference co-hosted by Florida Atlantic University and the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The biennial collaborative event comes to the United States for the first time as experts in various disciplines and academia convene at FAU’s downtown campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 8-11, 2011.

This is very exciting as it is the first time the international event will be held in the United States.  Hundreds of leading experts from around the globe will convene in downtown Fort Lauderdale to discuss the latest developments and the future of sub-tropical design and environmental sustainability. We invite you to attend the conference as a media guest or perhaps you would like to speak with one of the experts in advance.

Experts available for you to speak with include conference co-chairs Anthony Abbate AIA LEED AP, Florida Atlantic University, Broward Community Design Collaborative and Rosemary Kennedy, Queensland University of Technology Centre for Subtropical Design or any of the distinguished keynote speakers.

Key themes include: subtropical cities in the urban age, sustainable practices and decision making for resilient cities and adaptation to climate change. http://www.subtropicalcities2011.com

 

 

Rosemary Kennedy - Subtropical Cities 2011

Antony Abbate - Subtropical Cities 2011

Circling History

Miami Circle Park, designated a National Historic Landmark to preserve a 2,000 year old archaeological find, is located at the mouth of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay.

 

Star Gazer Lunar Eclipse 2010

A time lapsed version of the Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse of 2010 as seem from South Florida, courtesy of the WPBT2/Star Gazer team.

 

 

Seagrass Awareness

March is “Seagrass Awareness Month” in Miami-Dade County and the video is a proclamation reading by Commissioner Carlos Gimenez at Matheson Hammock Park in Miami on Monday, 3/1, of this week. The attendees at the event are introduced by Pamela Sweeney, Manager of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, who also receives the proclamation from the commissioner.

Road to Empowerment: Art of the Florida Highwaymen

Celebrating the beginning of NSU’s month-long recognition of Black History with the opening reception of Road to Empowerment: Art of the Florida Highwaymen. Featuring  a welcome by the Chair of the Organizing Committee, Mara Kiffin, NSU president George Hanbury, Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University Executive Director, Irvin Lippman and Gary Monroe, Author and Curator put the work of the Highwaymen in historical perspective.

At a time when being black in Florida meant being subjected to Jim Crow laws and limited opportunity, 26 African American youths from the Fort Pierce/Vero Beach area broke the mold by forming a loosely organized group of entrepreneurial artists that came to be known as the Highwaymen.

These socially disenfranchised artists achieved the American Dream during their heyday in the 1950s and 60s, and went on to help shape the visual legacy of Florida history by creating more than 250,000 oil paintings featuring the Sunshine State’s beautiful landscapes.

Changing Seas: Behind-the-Scenes

The crew of Changing Seas, a twelve-part public television series produced by WPBT2 in Miami, Florida, went out to sea on Dec 8th, 2009 to shoot underwater scenes of seagrasses. uVu followed Senior Producer Mark Baker, and videographer Jeremy Nicholson. An interview was conducted with Marine Biologist from University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Afterwards, the crew met with Pamela Sweeney, Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves Manager, Jenny Baez, Environmental Specialist II and BJ Fisher, Park Services Specialist.

Florida's Waterways

Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

This episode: Tortugas Research Natural Area.

Forty-six percent of Dry Tortugas National Park is designated as a “Research Natural Area (RNA)”—closed to fishing and anchoring. Resulting from documented declines in fish catches and the health of the coral reef, and intended to complement the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Tortugas Ecological Reserve, the RNA will help protect the park in a more pristine state.

You can watch more episodes on uVu

From Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

The Story of Florida’s State Parks, WPBT2,  Tuesday at 7:30 pm

Florida Park Service Specialist Tony Emtiaz takes an underwater tour of the Christ of the Deep statue, a long-time icon of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.