Crocheting the Coral Reef
April 16th, 2008
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City merged science and art on Tuesday, April 8. Using yarn donated by Lion Brand, they have crocheted an entire coral reef ecosystem and discussed some the current issues facing reefs today, as well as actions that can be taken in the future.
Margaret Wertheim, director of the Institute for Figuring, and Kate Holmes, a marine biologist for AMNH, lead a discussion about the plight of coral reefs, and “hyperbolic crochet,” while touching on handicraft, mathematics, marine ecology, conservation activism, and collective artistic practice.
To learn more about the Institute for Figuring, you can check out the article we wrote in our newsletter.
As someone who is also personally interested in coral reefs and their survivability, I also recently saw an article in The New York Times about some of the efforts being done to rebuild and sustain the reef community. One of these efforts is taking place in Delaware, where they are using old subway cars to create a thriving reef with trains taken from the New York City MTA. It’s very cool!
2 Responses to “ Crocheting the Coral Reef ”
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April 26th, 2008 at 6:07 pm |
I saw this featured in a magazine not to long ago
Tena
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 am |
This article caught my eye, and I followed the links to learn more. After spending some time poking around the Institute for Figuring, I was “hooked.” This week I’ve enjoyed pulling out my balls of left-over yarn, and turning them into little pieces of crocheted coral. It isn’t often I get to use my math background and my hobbies together. Thanks!