Stocking the Pequod:

Charting the Depths from the High Seas to the Mysterious Mind

An exhibition at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in the Presidio of San Francisco

The Pequod is the famed ship of Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby Dick. Melville, an abolitionist and an early critic of industrialism, fashioned Moby Dick after a true story about a monstrous and seemingly invulnerable white whale. This year ArtSeed artists working with children pre-k to teens have used his story as a springboard for art explorations into obsession, adventure, and the search for self-knowledge. The artwork, along with loaned objects from Thoreau Center neighbors and associates, is arranged in Pequod-like fashion– as if belonging to a diverse crew on a shared quest. Among these articles are personal effects from the distinguished art historian and late ArtSeed Advisor Leo Steinberg to whose memory this project is dedicated.

Curated by Josefa Vaughan, the project was collaboratively conceived and implemented by Marissa Kunz, Peter Mann and Summer Intensive students and supporting artists. Also included is work from Sherman Elementary School, Leola Havard Early Education School and ArtSeed’s Apprenticeship Program.

When: Opening reception: Tuesday, July 5, 2011, 5-7 p. m. The show runs through July 31 and can be viewed Monday through Friday 9 a. m. – 5 p. m., or by appointment.

Where: Corridor Gallery, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, 1016 Torney Ave., San Francisco, CA 94129 in the Presidio.

Directions and online map: http://www.thoreau.org/san-francisco/directions-contact/index.html

For further information contact: www.artseed.org, phone: 415-409-1761, or josefa@artseed.org

Major support provided by the Sustainable Arts Foundation and the California Arts Council with matching funds from generous individual donors made this programming year possible.