Forever is Composed of Nows
Cardinal Bromeliad
November 30 – December 21, 2012,
Miami Dade College, MDC Museum & Galleries of Art + Design –
Permanence, infinity, an assured longevity, the idea of a lasting legacy for future generations to evolve from and hold tangible . . . These concepts have always held a certain fascination for humanity. Yet in the struggle to preserve the ungovernable, we often let slip the treasured value of the present. In life there is no guaranteed permanence.
The Everglades, Dry Tortugas, Big Cypress, and Biscayne National Parks have come together in an exhibition of representative works to reaffirm our awareness of the uniquely sublime, natural infrastructure that is South Florida. These works remind us every past and future moment was at one time, or will be a, a present . . . a Now.
Be present and celebrate their beauty.
Cardinal Bromeliad , Woodcut, 14 x 17” – The cardinal bromeliad (Tillandsia fasciculata) characterized my first trip to the Everglades, May 2004. The bright red spikes lit up the swamps, as if there was a special celebration. Hanging from trees and branches, they appeared tough yet delicate, sometimes precariously balanced in tree limbs. Now the future for these plants seems precariously balanced.
As a result of Mexican bromeliad weevils, cardinal bromeliads are now endangered and appear less frequently than before the weevils attack. – M. Doctrow