Join Xavier Cortada at the Pinecrest Gardens Earth Day Festival and participate in his environmental participatory art projects:

Diatoms

• DIATOMS: Unveil the Diatom sculpture at 1 pm
  Diatoms are single-celled organisms that live in the water and harness the power of the sun to convert CO2 into oxygen. Its glass shell, all that remains from the diatom, is used by scientists today to see what was as they research environmental issues crucial to the city in the century to come. Scientists—and artists—can determine the past salinity of water by examining the shells of diatoms preserved in sedimentary core samples. Each diatom species has a different salinity preference, so changes in the mixture of fresh and sea water (driven by sea level and changes in water management) can be inferred from past diatom remains.

Xavier Cortada. “Longitudinal Installation,” South Pole (2007) and North Pole (2008).

• LONGITUDINAL INSTALLATION: Perform the ritualistic installation at noon
  Xavier Cortada painted and placed 24 in a circle around the North and South Poles, each representing a person living in a different part of the world affected by climate change. The shoes were placed next to each other in their respective longitudes as a proxy for people in the world below. After positioning the shoes, Cortada went to each shoe and recited a statement from a person living in that longitude about how climate change affected or will affect them.

• NATIVE FLAGS: Participate in eco-art reforestation project; drop in and make your flag anytime from noon to 4pm
  Miami artist Xavier Cortada created this urban reforestation eco-art project to help restore native habitats for plants and animals in urban areas.  Participating residents are asked to plant a native tree alongside the green project flag in their front yard and state: “I hereby reclaim this land for nature.”

Celebrate Mother Earth at Pinecrest Gardens’ Earth Day Festival

“We have art presentations and tours given by the Pérez Art Museum Miami throughout the day, special presentations from Xavier Cortada including The Longitudinal Installation Ceremony, the Native Flags Ceremony, the dedication of his new installation titled #Diatoms and so much more…”

Please read more at http://communitynewspapers.com/pinecrest/celebrate-mother-earth-at-pinecrest-gardens-earth-day-festival/