4/5/2010
When: 4/5/2010
2:00 PM
Where: Florida International University
Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC) Library Room 150
3000 NE 151 Street
North Miami, Florida 33181
Florida International University
Honors College Colloquium at BBC
Xavier Cortada
Artist
“Art and the Environment:
The Eco-Art Work of Xavier Cortada”
Monday, April 5, 2010
2:00 – 3:15 PM
BBC Library Room 150
Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus
Miami artist Xavier Cortada has created art installations around the world to raise
awareness about issues like global climate change, deforestation and the plight of
endangered species. In 2007, the artist used the moving ice sheet beneath the South
Pole as an instrument to mark time and highlight the impact of wide-scale climate
change. The following year, he launched a global reforestation eco-art effort, called
“The Reclamation Project” by planting a green flag at North Pole and reclaiming it for
nature. He has worked with scientists, arborists and environmental managers to
develop eco-art projects that engage community residents in bioremediation. One of
his current projects, “Endangered World: Biscayne National Park Installation,” allows
individuals and organizations to adopt an endangered or threatened animal, paint an
image of the species on one of the 360 colored flags planted along Convoy Point in
Biscayne National Park, and commit to an “eco-action” that directly or indirectly
mitigates the plight of this animal. Cortada has been commissioned to create art for
the White House, the World Bank, the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Governor’s
Mansion, Miami City Hall, Miami-Dade County Hall, the Miami Art Museum, the
Museum of Florida History, the South Pole Station, and the Frost Art Museum.