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Art in Ocean Science

May 24, 2012

When sculptor Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh showed photographs of her work to WHOI biological oceanographer Gareth Lawson, the scientist immediately recognized her subject as pteropods. Thus was born a unique collaboration between art and science to communicate the plight of the tiny organisms also known as “sea butterflies,” which, because they have carbonate shells, are threatened by ocean acidification. “The Pteropod Project: Charismatic Microfauna,” features a series of Kavanagh’s aluminum and bronze sculptures with video, photographs, and information from Lawson’s work showing in Manhattan’s Blue Mountain Gallery from May 22 to June 16. Lawson and members of his lab will be at the gallery for a closing reception Saturday, June 16 from 2 to 5 p.m. to discuss their work.(Composite courtesy of Cornelia Kavanagh and Nancy Copley, WHOI)