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Miami Dive Stop and the Charter Dive Boat Aquavita: 11/12/2007 Underwater Update |
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Is marine art, fine art? We'd like to know! Does a painting of a sailfish hanging in the air by Guy Harvey or Carey Chen have less value than an abstract interpretation of life, because one hangs on a marina wall and one hangs in an art gallery? I've seen the work of environmental sculptors - Simon Morris, Ross Power and Jason Taylor. Are they of lesser talent than the sculptor who puts a statue of 'peeled fruit' in a plaza outside an office building? How about Kim Brandell, the sculptor behind the art in the Atlantis Artificial Reef, a mixed-use project being built in 50' of water in the Key Biscayne Special Management Zone? Well, we think their art qualifies as fine art, so we're thinking about converting some of our retail showroom to a gallery of underwater art, from December 1 to mid-January 2008. Check to see what we are able to do. We're planning to host the first marine art & sculpture exhibition, called the Gallery of the Ocean Realm, during Art Basel Miami Beach, the second largest art industry event in the world. The 'fine art' convention has become an arts and cultural event radiating out from the Miami Beach Convention Center to the Miami Design and Wynwood Art Districts. Two hundred, or so, of the art world's most prestigious art galleries will exhibit the work of new and established painters, sculptors and performance artists in the official exhibition area. But there are dozens of galleries in Miami and Coral Gables, as well as many special events, so we're going to try and add a little water to the mix. Not one art gallery in South Florida is planning to exhibit the best marine artists in the 'underwater' world, so, we've decided to convert our equipment showroom into an art gallery for a three month exhibition, which will include the December 6 to 9 period of Art Basel Miami Beach. The Gallery of the Ocean Realm will feature a select group of marine life and underwater landscape artists, including sculpture. An idea we are considering it to make the exhibition a 'road show' and take it to other cities. I'll be updating this page, so check back. I'm also doing ArtBaselOnline - a promotional site, so if you're interested in art, check it out. Do you have a favorite marine life painter? Is their work considered 'fine art?' Let me know... Ken English 'curator' of the Miami Dive Stop Underwater Art Gallery Charter the dive boat...It's the same as chartering a fishing boat, a yacht, or a limousine. For a flat rate, we'll provide a captain and required equipment. You just need a valid 'C-card,' and a dive buddy or 2 - actually, up to 11. You can pick the dive sites, the depth and the music. Call for prices and various options: 305.940.0927. We have great 'wreckreational' diving and we'd like to put some pictures and video online. With that in mind, we have an underwater camera available for use on the dive boat, and plan to offer a photography course, as soon as we get the underwater art gallery in place. By the way, if you're not on our email list, please enter your address in the boxes below. We are planning to send updates on the store, the local diving, and a new travel program that should be in place this month. You can 'opt-out' of the list at any time.
From our dock at Haulover Park marina, you can dive the oil platforms, located just north of Golden Beach, or the Conception, located in the Sunny Isles reef site. A little to the south is the Miami Beach Wreck Trek, a relatively shallow (50-60 feet) trail of material with a pair of army tanks at its southern end. The Wreck Trek is part of the Anchorage reef site, which is deeper (80+), but contains a variety of ships, like the Rio Miami. Click here for a glimpse of an artificial reef with an attitude. The County is planning to do some work on the site in 2007. For more information on the Miami Beach Wreck Trek, check out www.MiamiBeachDiving.com. The Anchorage site also contains a ship called the Tortuga, which was sunk during the closing sequence of the Cindy Crawford/Billy Baldwin epic, Fair Game. Beyond Government Cut is the Key Biscayne Special Management Zone with more than a dozen ships and barges, such as the Orion, Proteus and Doc DeMilly. Regards...Tony: tony@miamidivestop.com |
