IF WE TURN A TREE INTO FIREWOOD, IT WILL BURN FOR US, BUT IT WILL NO LONGER PRODUCE FLOWERS OR FRUIT FOR OUR CHILDREN

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On the Altars of Vanity Series. If We Turn a Tree into Firewood, It Will Burn for Us, but It Will No Longer Produce Flowers and Fruit for Our Children

Watercolor & Pencil on Paper

46” x 30”

2020

Tourism is vital to Miami’s economy. Located on a vast plain between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades, beautiful beaches and aqua blue water are, of course, a big draw. The city also boasts an ecotourism destination, offering visitors such opportunities as experiencing the Everglades and its wildlife on educational walks and hikes through its many parks. Promotional imagery depicting flora and fauna can be found in public places throughout the municipality, intended to highlight the city’s concern for the environment and promote awareness about care and preservation for this vital resource. Simultaneously, activity related to real estate development, mining, and agriculture in the surrounding area sadly contrasts these efforts.

This work, whose title recalls Aesop’s Fable The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs, a pair of well-heeled Victorian women wearing plumed hats reflecting their elevated social status, meet at the 21st century Miami public bus stop with glass panels etched with herons in their natural environment. The artist uses this unnatural juxtaposition to call attention to the destructive past. How the underlying attitudes of that time persist today, with individuals and corporations profiting from natural resources often without understanding or caring about the immediate or future impact on the environment, humans included.