C R A F T IN A C T IO N
Left: Another section
of the ring-shaped
Ladies Silurian A toll,
made by a core group
of crafters.
w h o h ave co n trib u ted to sa te l-
lite r e e f p ro je cts.
F ro m th e b eg in n in g , the
hum an-m ade r e e f w a s en vision ed
as a com m u n al art v e n tu re th at
co u ld raise aw aren ess o f th e
e c o lo g ica l im p act o f glo bal
w a rm in g , o cean acid ifica tio n ,
in v a siv e sp e c ie s, and o v e rfish -
in g o n co ra l re e fs. B u t th e sis-
ters n e v e r im agin ed th e m yriad
w a y s th e p ro je c t (d iscu ssed in
th e D ec./Jan . 2008
American
C raft)
w o u ld g r o w . T h e p ast six
y e a rs h ave seen a flu rry o f a c tiv -
ity arou n d th e w o rld : T h e
I F F
Core R e e f
has b e e n e x h ib ite d in
11 m useum s and g a lle rie s, and
som e 20 sa tellite re e fs h ave
sp ru n g up in N e w Y o r k , F lo rid a,
Illin o is, and A r iz o n a , as w e ll
m o re far-flu n g p laces su ch as
E n g la n d , Ire la n d , L a tv ia , A u s -
tralia, and S o u th A fr ic a . A lo n g
th e w a y , th e re h a ve b een a
n u m b er o f reef-in sp ire d sch o o l
p ro je c ts, m ore than a d o zen
w o rk s h o p s , and fo u r lectu res
and sy m p o sia - in clu d in g a 2009
ta lk in Irelan d b y M a rg a re t at
th e fa sh io n ab le T E D ( T e c h -
n o lo g y , E n te rta in m e n t, D e sig n )
c o n fe re n c e . T h e p ro je c t has
a ttracte d h u n d red s o f th o u -
Right: Margaret
Wertheim made this
hyperbolic jellyfish
with plastic trash-can
liners.
sands o f e x h ib itio n visito rs.
W h a t has d ra w n su ch w id e -
sp read fa scin atio n ? M o s t lik e ly
it’s th e unusual in te rse ctio n o f
art, scie n ce , m ath em atics, h an d -
c ra ft, co n se rv a tio n , and c o m -
m u n ity. M a d e fro m trad itio n al
y arn s, as w e ll as su ch u n e x p e c t-
ed m aterials as p la stics, sod a can
tab s, and cab le tie s, th e c ro -
c h e te d p ie ce s re p re se n t a w id e-
ran gin g catalo g o f sea creatu res
- c o ra ls, sea slu gs, k e lp , and
sp o n g es am ong th em . T h e
hand m ad e re e fs tell th e sto ry
o f ocean life in all its ex q u isite
b e a u ty - and p recario u sn ess.
N a n c y K n o w lto n , S an t C h air
fo r M arin e S cie n c e at th e M u -
seu m o f N atu ra l H is to ry , and
scie n ce a d viso r fo r th e S m ith -
son ian e x h ib itio n , is a cu te ly
a w a re o f the d an gers to th ese
d e lica te e co sy ste m s. “ T h e reefs
I stu d ied 35 y e a rs ago h a ve
la rg e ly v a n ish e d ,” she n o tes.
“ A n d m o st re e fs m ay w e ll be
g o n e b y th e end o f th e c e n tu ry
o r so o n e r, i f n o th in g is d on e to
p ro te c t th e m .” I f tren d s c o n -
tin u e, sh e sa y s, “ an e x h ib it like
th is m ay so m e d ay b e th e o n ly
w a y fo r p e o p le to e x p e rie n c e
th e b e a u ty o f co ral re e fs.”
B ea u ty is n o t all th at th ese
livin g organism s p ro v id e , o f
cou rse. R ic k M a cP h e rso n o f the
C o ral R e e f A llia n c e p o in ts ou t
that w h ile coral reefs c o v e r ju st
tw o -ten th s o f on e p e rcen t o f the
ocean flo o r, th eir co m p lex tro p i-
cal eco system s rival th e rain fo r-
ests in b io d iv e rsity , su p p ortin g
alm ost a qu arter o f all m arine
sp ecies. C o ra l reefs also p ro vid e
fo o d , resou rces fo r m ed icines,
and “ in com e to m illions o f p e o -
ple w o rld w id e , and th e y p ro te ct
ou r coastal com m u nities from
dam aging storm s and tsu n am is,”
M a cP h e rso n says.
A m o n g th e g re a te st th reats
to th e w e ll-b e in g o f re e fs g lo b -
ally are ocean a cid ificatio n and
o cean w a rm in g , coral b le ach -
ing, w a te r p o llu tio n and sed i-
m en tatio n , and o z o n e d e p le -
tion . T h e W e rth e im s h a ve
illu strated th e se co n cern s in
th e ir la rg e ly c o lo rle ss
Bleached
R eef-m d Bleached Bone Reef.
O th e r d e stru c tiv e p ra ctices
in clu d e co ra l m in in g, coastal
d e v e lo p m e n t, and careless to u r-
ism , allu d ed to b y th e siste rs’
Toxic R eef,
w h ic h is alm o st
w h o lly c o n stru cte d from trash
and p lastics.
T h e
Smithsonian Community
R e e f
to o k r o o t w h e n th e M u -
seum o f N atu ra l H is to ry agreed
to e x h ib it th e
I F F Core R e e f
c o lle ctio n . Jane M ilo sc h , cu ra-
to r o f c o n te m p o ra ry c ra ft at the
S m ith so n ian ’s A m e rica n A r t
M u seu m , secu red fu n d in g from
th e C o ra l R e e f A llia n c e , Q u ik -
silve r F o u n d atio n , and th e A u s -
tralian em b assy. M u seu m p ro -
gram m in g c o o rd in a to r J e n n ife r
L in d sa y , a fo rm e r e n v iro n m e n -
tal legal assistan t, a cra ft sch olar,
and a lo n g tim e k n itte r w ith
d eep co n n e ctio n s w ith in th e
g re a te r D .C . fib er arts co m m u -
n ities, h ead ed th e six-m onth
co m m u n ity r e e f p ro je ct. S h e
rallied som e 800 p articip an ts
- ages 3 to 101, fro m so m e 25
states and th re e co u n tries - to
p ro d u ce n e a rly 4,000 p ie ce s o f
cro c h e te d co ral. T h e s h o w ’s
d esig n ers th en assem b led the
p ie ce s - in a k a le id o sco p e o f
sh apes and co lo rs, as in d ivid u al
as th e m akers - in to a 15- b y 9-
b y 7 -fo o t cro c h e te d r e e f m ound.
T h e resu lt is an e x h ib itio n th at
M a rg a re t W e rth e im d escrib es
as “ th e a p o th eo sis o f th e p ro je c t
- a dream co m e tru e .”
W ith n o en d in sig h t fo r this
e v e r-e v o lv in g e n d e a v o r, th e
“ H y p e rb o lic C ro c h e t C o ra l
R e e f ’ e x h ib itio n s and satellite
reefs w ill co n tin u e to raise
aw aren ess ab o u t th e su rp ris-
in g ly related in terests o f c ra ft-
ers, m ath em atician s, and
en viro n m e n talists.
+
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c ro c h e tco ra lre e f.o rg
m n h .si.e d u / e x h ib its/ h re e f/
te d .co m / ta lk s / v ie w / id A iQ
th e iff.o rg
Tara Leigh Tappert is an indepen-
dent scholar and archivist based in
Washington, D . C. H er latest proj-
ect is a study o f how the U. S. m ili-
tary has used arts and crafts fo r
rehabilitation and recreation since
W orld W a r I.
034 american craft fcb/m arn
Photos: The Institute For Figuring
