In Danger - The Schuylkill Center Art Department

Sarah Kaizar, In Danger

October 1, 2013 – January 4, 2014
Opening Reception – October 12, 4 – 6 pm.

Arroyo Toad, Sarah Kaizar

The Schuylkill Center presented a series of drawings based upon the 1,115 species identified on the U.S. endangered species list.

Kaizar wanted to “compose a showcase for these imperiled creatures, capturing their wide range of forms, patterns, textures and personalities.” This exhibition presented an engrossing and alarming number of animals in danger of extinction, in their intricate and beautiful detail. While it is a chilling reality, we believe recognizing and celebrating these vulnerable life forms is an essential part of increasing public environmental awareness.

The Schuylkill Center works tirelessly to ensure a protected haven for hundreds of species, as well as operates a full time Wildlife Clinic for injured animals in the Philadelphia region. While this exhibition does not limit itself to only local species, we are keenly aware of the danger our local wildlife face daily.

To ensure accuracy, these drawings are periodically reviewed by an extremely helpful and generous group of biologists: Dr. Benjamin Keck, a post-doctoral associate at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Kristen Kuhn, a research affiliate at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; Dr. Thomas Near, associate professor at Yale University and curator of the Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History; and Greg Watkins–Colwell, collections manager of Herpetology & Ichthyology at the Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History. Working from photographs Kaizar creates these pen and ink drawings while riding the train to and from work.

For more of Kaizar’s work, please visit http://www.sarahkaizar.com/