ANNUAL RINGS
Mixed media
37”Lx9"Wx13.5"H spalted sugar maple (Acer saccharum) stands, .5”Lx48"Wx72"H acrylic print of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) pectoral spine
2021
A meditation on time and resource management, sturgeon are geologically old and generationally long-lived fish.
"And you can age a fish like a forester would age a tree. They lay down annual rings. It's not uncommon to see sturgeon that are, you know, 40, 50, 60 years old. And one of the inferences that we can make is how spawning success has been over a long period of time. Whether mortality has been excessive. So, it tells us an awful lot." – Donald Einhouse (NYSDEC), July 2013 transcript of video interview.
This project is a part of Lake Sturgeons' Guide for Surviving the Anthropocene (LSGFSA).
LSGFSA was exhibited at the Burchfield Penney Art Center August 13, 2021 - November 28, 2021.
It was generously supported by the Global Warming Art Project grant, Ben Perrone and the Environmental Maze project donors, and administered by the Art Services Initiative of Western New York. It would not be possible without the support of the Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
And thank you to Matthew Kantar and Michael Myers for the beautiful woodwork. And to Ashley Nottingham and Geoff Kilmer for the print work support. And thank you to Dimitry Gorsky for the pectoral spine scans.