'Beauty and the Beetle' at Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven

NEW HAVEN - "Beauty and the Beetle: Coleoptera in Art and Science", opens May 27, at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, according to release.

The exhibition, on view through Aug.t 6, "combines select beetle specimens from the Peabody collections with larger than life beetle-inspired art by New Haven sculptor Gar Waterman and Bethany photographer William Guth, both masters of their craft," according to the release.

Like "Dinosaurs Take Flight," which is also on view at the Peabody, "Beauty and the Beetle" employs "the interpretive nature of art to augment the science presented by engaging audiences and arousing the imagination in ways not available to science alone," the release said.

 

A larger goal of "Beauty and the Beetle" "is the quest for “the deeper appreciation for the fantastic creatures that call Earth home – including humanity – and encourage us to reflect and respect the environments that support us all," the release said.

 

Editor's note:

Metal sculpture by Gar Waterman of a scissor-jawed longhorn beetle

Photograph by William Guth of a New Guinea spotted longhorn beetle.

 

More (also from the release):

Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera. Their front pair of wings is hardened into wing-cases, called elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. They include more species than any other order and constitute nearly a quarter of all known types of animal life. Of the one million species of insects known to scientists today, nearly half – about 400,000 – are beetles. They are found in habitats across the globe, and take on a wide variety of shapes and sizes, the largest being 400 times longer than the smallest.

Actual specimens are small if not miniscule. Waterman and Guth met the challenge of transforming the microscopic into the extraordinary, the mundane into the heroic, by supersizing the scale of these fascinating creatures. Waterman, who calls himself “a nature-obsessed artist whose work explores the architecture of natural design,” pairs larger than life metal sculptures with beetle specimens to reveal by altered scale the remarkable details of beetle anatomy. To inform his work, he met with Munstermann and fellow entomologist Bill Krinsky and, in the Peabody Division of Entomology, observed specimens to learn about their anatomy.

The art form he employs is bricolage, a construction of whatever materials come to hand. His sculptures were initially inspired by metal stampings that were cast-offs from an automobile brake parts manufacturer. They resembled insect legs. “What began as found object art evolved into a science lesson in entomology,” Waterman explains. “The more I studied beetles to inform my art work, the more fascinated I became with their extraordinary biology and biodiversity.”

A video in the exhibition shows Waterman at work in his Westville studio transforming brake parts into adult beetle sculptures. The work requires a lot of cutting and shaping using numerous tools to which this artist is no stranger – industrial laser cutter, angle grinder, TIG welder, and MIG’s electric arc. Hundreds of individual welds are required to complete each section of the sculpture.

The magnificent oversized beetle photographs in the exhibition – high resolution color inkjet prints – are the work of William Guth. Both art and anatomy lesson, they feature amazing colors and exoskeleton topographies that straddle the line between abstract art form and biology. Guth cites three elements of his macro photography that were significant to capturing the fine detail of specimens this size – lighting, camera control, and photo-editing software. Fourteen images of a subject were taken at different focal points, then combined to produce a fully focused image and selectively enhanced detail.

The beetles on display are stunning themselves, representing the amazing beauty and complexity of nature’s art. The largest group of beetles are the weevils, or snout beetles of the Curculionidae family. One of six groups of Coleoptera on display, they comprise about 90,000 species – more than all species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles (including birds), and mammals combined – and range in size from a grain of sand to 1.5 inches long.

Other Coleoptera on view include the stag beetles (Lucanidae family), longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae family), scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae family), and ground beetles (Carabidae family). In each case, specimens show the many extraordinary variations of rostrums, antennae, mandibles, and other features. 

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Connecticut DEEP: 'Turtles and Roads Are a Deadly Combination'

The following is a release from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, shared here unedited as public service and with the aim of saving a few turtles/

 

Photo by Helen Bennett

The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.

“Connecticut’s landscape is highly fragmented by busy roads, and many turtles are forced to travel great distances – and across roadways – to find suitable nesting habitat,” said Rick Jacobson, Director of the DEEP Wildlife Division. “Helping a turtle move across the road can be the difference between life and death for the animal, and for future generations, but your safety comes first. Be sure to assist a turtle in the road only when it is safe to do so and do not attempt to stop traffic.”

“Research has shown that aquatic turtle populations across the United States have uncommonly high proportions of males because so many female turtles are being killed on roadways,” said Jacobson.

Guidance on Assisting Turtles

Always keep the turtle pointed in the direction it is going. If you turn it around in the other direction, the turtle will only make another attempt to cross the road. Also, DO NOT move the turtle to a “better spot,” and DO NOT put terrestrial box turtles in a lake, pond, or other water body. Turtles have a home range and females often return to the same general area to lay their eggs. Snapping turtles can be large, heavy, and feisty, so if you are unable to “shoo” them across the road, pick them up by the back of their shells above their legs and tail, NOT by their tail, to avoid a bite. Some people use a shovel or a stick to push or skid snapping turtles across the road.

Turtles have a long lifespan, take a long time to reach sexual maturity, and have low survivorship when newly hatched. Because of these attributes, turtle populations cannot compensate for losses due to adult mortality without experiencing long-term consequences. With turtle populations requiring high levels of adult survivorship, every individual is important to a population’s stability. This concern is even greater in recent years because many U.S. turtle populations are becoming fragmented, isolated, and progressively smaller.

In your travels, if you encounter a turtle in the road, just remember this motto: “Give turtles a break and help them cross if it is safe.”

Keep Wild Turtles Wild

Do not be tempted to take a turtle you come across to keep as a pet. Turtles should be left in the wild both for your own good and the good of the turtle.

"Removing individual turtles from the wild, including hatchlings, can have a huge impact on the local population," said Jenny Dickson, Supervising Wildlife Biologist with the DEEP Wildlife Division. "Every individual is important to the population’s stability."

Keep in mind that caring for a pet turtle is not as easy as you may think. Turtles require specific temperatures, diets, and lighting for digestion and shell health. Cages must be kept clean as turtles can carry salmonella. And, turtles live a long time – 50 to 100 years for an eastern box turtle (which is illegal to collect and possess in Connecticut).

Once the novelty of having a turtle as a pet wears off, the owner is faced with a decision of what to do with it. "Captive turtles, whether they were collected from the wild or bought at a pet store, should never be released to the wild," stressed Dickson. "Released turtles rarely survive, frequently introduce undetectable respiratory or other diseases to wild populations, and in the case of non-native species, may harm native turtle populations." The best way to enjoy turtles is to watch them in their native habitat. Help keep wild turtles wild and leave them where you find them. Instead of collecting turtles, take photographs instead. Share your photos on the Connecticut Fish and Wildlife Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CTFishandWildlife. Those interested in learning about Connecticut’s turtles can visit DEEP’s turtle webpage at www.ct.gov/deep/yearofturtle.

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Examining East Rock as a Walkable Community at New Haven Museum

 

The following is posted here, unedited, as an information service to the public.  It was sent by the New Haven Museum.

 

What makes an area truly livable? According to New Haven resident and writer Phil Langdon, it needs to be a walkable community—meaning that a resident can walk (or bike) from home to a variety of useful destinations, such as cafes, grocery stores, laundries, churches, schools, and parks in a few minutes. On Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at 5:30 p.m., Langdon will give an illustrated lecture drawn from the East Rock, New Haven chapter of his book, “Within Walking Distance: Creating Livable Communities for All,” published by Island Press. The free event is followed by a book signing.

 

Langdon’s book examines six places across the country that are relatively walkable communities—meaning that within in a few minutes a resident can walk (or bike) from home to a variety of useful destinations. In the chapter on the East Rock neighborhood, Langdon discusses how that section of town incorporated sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s concept of “third places” and New Urbanism’s ideas about the benefits of having a mix of uses and a convenient network of streets, sidewalks, and public spaces.

 

Langdon notes that in the latter half of the 1990s, several individuals formed a group called Upper Orange Street Neighbors, aimed at making the Orange Street corridor more attractive; helping merchants on Orange Street become more successful; stabilizing the residential section between Orange and State Streets; and creating a series of outdoor patios where people could gather. The first merchants to act on the patio idea, with some financial help from the city, were Lulu de Carrone at Lulu’s coffeehouse, Romeo Simeone at Romeo & Cesare’s, P&M Orange Street Market and the Orange Street Liquor Shop. Langdon says the patios have proven enormously popular, bringing a new level of sociability to East Rock, and especially the Orange Street corridor. He adds that there have also been other achievements, such as the reopening of the old pharmacy at Orange and Cottage Streets under a new name, East Rock Pharmacy, with vigorous new owners.

 

Langdon, who has lived in the area for 34 years, interviewed many people about the changes that have come to Orange Street and East Rock, and photographed much of what’s been accomplished.

 

Langdon was senior editor at New Urban News and is a freelance journalist. His articles have been published in The Atlantic, American Heritage, Planning, Urban Land, Planning Commissioners Journal, Preservation, Governing, The American Enterprise, Progressive Architecture, Architectural Record, Landscape Architecture, CityLab, and The New York Times. 

 

About the New Haven Museum

The New Haven Museum has been collecting, preserving and interpreting the history and heritage of Greater New Haven since its inception as the New Haven Colony Historical Society in 1862. Located in downtown New Haven at 114 Whitney Avenue, the Museum brings more than 375 years of New Haven history to life through its collections, exhibitions, programs and outreach. For more information visit www.newhavenmuseum.org or Facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183.

 

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'Town and Gown Prepare for War Centennial at New Haven Museum'

The following is shared here unedited, contributed by New Haven Museum, as a service to readers:

 On the evening of August 27, 1917, 50,000 Connecticut residents filed into the recently constructed Yale Bowl for a "Farewell Program" for 4,000 soldiers of the 102nd Regiment heading off to fight in France. That night the walls between city and university dissolved in a way unseen before or since. Together, under the twinkling lights—the first ever electrified evening event at the Yale Bowl—the crowd’s cheers nearly drowned out the blare of the unit’s brass band. New Haven residents and Yale students alike comprised the newly formed 102^nd. Months later, during the first U.S. engagement of World War One (WWI), more men from New Haven would die together in one day than in in any other battle of the 20th century. On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at 5:30 pm, author Laura A. Macaluso, Ph.D. will bring this pivotal period of Elm City history to life during a presentation entitled "The Spirit of 1776/1917: Town and Gown Prepare for War" at the New Haven Museum. Admission is free.

 

Recognized locally as the guest curator of the recent New Haven Museum exhibit, “An Artist at War: Deane Keller, New Haven’s Monuments Man,” Macaluso will include in her lecture information from her recently published book, “New Haven in World War I,” which was endorsed by the World War One Centennial Commission in Washington, D.C. A book signing will follow.

 

Macaluso notes that New Haven was a hive of wartime activity during WWI. The city hummed with munition production from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, while food conservation campaigns, canning kitchens and book drives contributed to the war effort. Meanwhile, Walter Camp, father of American football, whipped recruits and city residents into shape with his fitness programs. The Knights of Columbus were also busy preparing their "Everyone Welcome! Everything Free!" huts. And one hero, a brown and white dog known as Sgt. Stubby, first made his appearance. “For a time, World War One transformed the city and university into a cohesive team, healing old wounds,” she says. “But,” she adds, “Just as peace did not last on the national stage, eventually erupting into WWII, peace did not last in New Haven, either.”

 

Macaluso holds degrees in art history and the humanities from Southern Connecticut State University, Syracuse University, in Italy, and Salve Regina University. She has worked as a grants writer and curator in historic sites, museums, art, and park organizations. She held a Fulbright at the Swaziland National Museum in 2008-2009, and returned in 2010 under an Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation award from the State Department. Her writings include “Historic Treasures of New Haven: Celebrating 375 Years of the Elm City,” and “Art of the Amistad and the Portrait of Cinqué.” She contributes to a number of periodicals and scholarly journals, including “Connecticut Explored,” “Material Culture,” “The International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture,” and “Nineteenth Century,” among others.

 

In a related event, on Wednesday, May 24, from 3 to 7 p.m., New Haven Museum will host a statewide effort to help preserve WWI history, hosting the Connecticut State Library’s “Remembering World War One” Digitization Day. During the event, which is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, area residents can bring in their WWI photos, letters, and keepsakes to the museum, where they will be photographed or scanned by Connecticut State Library staff for inclusion in the public record.
 

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An Amazing Personal Story of Mesothelioma Survival

 
Being diagnosed with mesothelioma is a terrible blow. This aggressive type of cancer is nearly always incurable. It is difficult to treat, the prognosis is rarely positive, and it causes uncomfortable symptoms that cause quality of life to deteriorate quickly. And yet, some people do fight back and survive this awful cancer. Katherine Keys is one of those survivors and her story is one she loves to share, to give hope and provide inspiration to others.
 
When Katherine first noticed the symptoms that she now knows were caused by mesothelioma, she assumed she had a bad case of the flu or another respiratory infection. She was struggling to breathe, she had a cough, and she just didn’t feel well. There are several types of mesothelioma but the most common type affects the tissue, called the pleura, that lines the lungs and interior of the chest cavity. Because of its location in the body, pleural mesothelioma causes symptoms that mimic infections like the flu or pneumonia. This, combined with how relatively rare it is, makes mesothelioma difficult to diagnose.
 
Katherine got sick and when what she assumed was an infection failed to get better, and in fact only got worse, she ended up in the emergency room. Eventually she received the terrible diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma, and the prognosis wasn’t good. She had something on her side, though. She was diagnosed with stage I mesothelioma.
 
A stage I diagnosis, the earliest stage of cancer in which it has not yet spread very far in the body, is not common with mesothelioma. This cancer has a long latency period and is often diagnosed when it is already in stage III or IV. With a rare early diagnosis, Katherine had hope. She was only 49 and she was told by her doctors that she would be lucky to live two years, but Katherine was ready for a fight.

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To give herself the best possible chance of remission and a cure, Katherine chose to go through the most aggressive type of treatment: a surgical procedure called an extrapleural pneumonectomy. This radical surgery is done only by expert surgeons specializing in this kind of treatment. It involves removing an entire lung, most of the pleural tissues, lymph nodes, and part of the diaphragm. Some patients do not survive this surgery, and for those who do there are potential complications and a long recovery period.
 
Katherine’s surgery was a success. After surgery, she underwent radiation therapy to kill any lingering cancer cells, and months later her check-ups kept coming back clear. She had no recurrence of cancer at a month after surgery, two months later, six months, later, and finally 1 year later. At this point she was declared a survivor. She had beaten one of the toughest types of cancer and was in remission.
 
Today, nearly 10 years later, Katherine is still cancer-free. Her battle to survive was just the beginning, though, now she lives life with physical limitations because she has only one lung. Katherine isn’t bothered by that, though. She is thrilled to be alive and to still be with her family and friends. She is also thrilled to share her story every chance she gets. To be able to inspire others to fight back against cancer, even when the odds are not good, is something that Katherine treasures. She hopes that her story will give others hope when everything seems hopeless, and that her survival will encourage other patients to take a chance with the risky surgery to have a better chance of being survivors too.

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How well do you know New Haven history

How well do you know New Haven history? Take this just-for-fun quiz and find out! Answers are listed after the quiz questions.

Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University to host conference

Hunger Museum - Helen Bennett

HAMDEN -  Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University will act as host for the conference, "Children and the Great Hunger," on June 14-17, according to a release.

 

 

"In any sustained period of food hunger and famine, children are one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of disease and mortality. The Great Hunger that occurred in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 is no exception," the release said.

 

The conference, which will take place on the York Hill Campus and is co-hosted by the Irish Heritage Trust, seeks to explore the impact of famine on children and young adults. While the focus will be on Ireland’s Great Hunger, a comparative approach is encouraged. It is anticipated that a selection of papers will be published."

 

Hunger Museum

“This conference is building on the success of our two earlier international conferences, which attracted scholars and students from across the Atlantic,” said Christine Kinealy, professor of history and director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute, also in the release. “Although children are always at the forefront of suffering during any sustained famine, they have been the subject of relatively few studies. This conference is groundbreaking.”

 

The keynote speakers are: Kinealy, Maureen Murphy of Hofstra University, Mark McGowan of Toronto University and Gerard Moran of Galway University.  In addition, 30 other scholars will present papers, the release said..

"The program will also include a reading by acclaimed Irish novelist Michael Collins and feature several special events: a visit to Ireland's Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac, a stop at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, and an opportunity to explore New Haven."
 

For more information or to register, call Ann Marie Godbout at (203) 582-6576.

"Ireland's Great Hunger Institute is a scholarly resource for the study of the Great Hunger, which is also known as An Gorta Mór. Through a strategic program of lectures, conferences, course offerings and publications, the institute fosters a deeper understanding of this tragedy and its causes and consequences. To encourage original scholarship and meaningful engagement, the institute develops and makes available the Great Hunger Collection, a unique array of primary, secondary and cultural sources, to students and scholars. In educating people of all ages and backgrounds about the Great Hunger, the institute also supports the mission of Ireland's Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac."

 Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook  on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

 

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At New Haven Museum: "Hip Road Trip: Roadside Architecture"

NEW HAVEN - Mary Donohue, architectural historian and guest curator of the exhibition Road Trip!  at the New Haven Museum, will speak on Connecticut’s roadside architecture at 5:30 p.m.  May 11, according to a release.

 

"Donohoe will take attendees on 'A Hip Road Trip,' a grand tour of Connecticut’s roadside architecture using vintage postcards, rare brochures and matchbooks, early automotive maps and contemporary photographs," the release said. "She will explore Connecticut’s two-lane highways—including the Berlin Turnpike, Route 1, and the Albany Turnpike—in search of vintage diners, tourist cabins, neon signs, gas stations, and 1950’s amusements such as miniature golf courses and drive-in movies. Roadside enthusiasts, Baby Boomers and pop-culture fans will all enjoy an entertaining and nostalgic tour of some of Connecticut’s beloved roadside attractions."

 

Donohue is the president of Grant House Heritage Services and serves as the assistant publisher of Connecticut Explored, the state’s history magazine, the release said.  "She was the deputy state historic preservation officer for the State Historic Preservation Office of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and has co-authored three award-wining publications including, most recently, 'A Life of the Land: Connecticut's Jewish Farmers.'” 

 

"Donohue’s lecture will be offered in conjunction with the “Road Trip!”  exhibition, which focuses on the joy of trading speed and convenience for the excitement of exploration and discovery of the unexpected. “Road Trip!” includes vintage photos of quirky roadside attractions, souvenirs and mementos crowdsourced from Greater New Haven residents, artifacts from the Connecticut Historical Society, Museum of Connecticut History, the American Diner Museum, and even a 1960s-inspired, turquoise-and-white diner booth, specially built for the exhibit by the New England Seating Company. The exhibition will run through September 1, 2017."

 

“Road Trip!” is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Richard L. English Fund, the release said.

 

 For museum hours and more information visitor Facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183.

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