“While the human cannot make a blade of grass, there is liable not to be a blade of grass unless it is accepted, protected and fostered by the human.” — Thomas BerryIn each of her emails, beneath the sign-off, Angela Manno includes a quote from Thomas Berry’s The Determining Features of Ecozoic Era (1998), whose premise is that Earth “can survive only in its integral functioning.” Manno is one of many artists who feel increasingly called to centralize issues of ecology within their practice, an aim perhaps best expressed in her...
Angela Manno's blog
Saturday, 25 February, 2023
Saturday, 25 February, 2023
I’m thrilled to announce the following schedule of one-woman shows and speaking engagements at Iona College and Yale University. With the exception of a few artworks, these two exhibitions will contain most of my Contemporary Icons of Threatened and Endangered Species series including a number of new works. I am grateful to my collectors’ generosity for loaning me their icons for this traveling exhibition. The dates, as you will note, are back-to back:Iona College Exhibition and Speaking Engagements:Exhibition Title: Saving Beauty: The Contemporary Icons of Threatened and...
Friday, 18 November, 2022
I'm happy to announce that I am partnering once again with the Center for Biological Diversity in their Saving Life on Earth fundraiser with a new limited edition print of the Monarch butterfly (pictured below). Monarch butterflies — once one of the most common and beloved species in the United States — are in serious trouble. Monarch populations in the US have plummeted more than 80% in the past two decades. They’ve lost an estimated 165 million acres of breeding habitat to herbicide spraying, development and global climate change. ...
Thursday, 26 May, 2022
Clinging on a honeycomb and glimmering gold, Byzantine-style background, the image of a honeybee appeared on computer screens around the globe. And then it began to speak.I am the honeybee. I work tirelessly to produce my honey, my pollen and to carry out my irreplaceable work of pollination. My species is threatened due to the use of toxic pesticides, destruction of my habitat and lack of forage due to monocultures. Without me, coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa, just to name a few of the crops, would be wiped out. I have intrinsic value in my own right, not just my use to humans....
Sunday, 27 February, 2022
Artist Paints Icons of Endangered Species to “foster ecological conversion'The panther's greenish eyes, staring directly at the viewer, are hypnotic. Caught in a moment of calm, etched against a golden background, it seems to be waiting. But this is no ordinary painting.The Florida panther is an icon, part of a series of endangered species depicted by New York artist Angela Manno in the style of traditional Byzantine icons. A frog, an orchid, an orangutan mother and child, a wolf, a fish — 14 in all. They are art. And they are prayer.They also reflect Manno's own...
Monday, 29 November, 2021
I recently participated in Artists Talk on Art’s 82 Virtual Open Studio, 11/29/2021, "Earth on the Edge" Organized by Marcia Annenberg. Critically acclaimed, ATOA has offered talks by more than 7,500 artists and a significant number of art critics, historians, gallery directors and curators, including Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Robert DeNiro, The Guerrilla Girls, Robert Longo and Lucy Lippard.Watch my presentation at the link below.https://angelamanno.com/notes-artists-talk-on-art
Saturday, 1 May, 2021
This series began in 2000 when I created an icon of the Earth as seen from space. In 2016, I created my first icon of a threatened species: the Honey Bee.The series continues to grow and at present there are fourteen in all. They cover all the categories: fish, mammal, insect, plant, bird reptile and amphibian. My aim is to keep a balance of all the species so that all are represented equally.The burning question now is which species to choose, since tragically, the numbers that are threatened or often critically endangered are overwhelming. What is not generally known are the multiple...
Monday, 15 March, 2021
My last entry focused on my criteria for which creature to choose next. As I mentioned, there’s how each will fit in with the growing series, a balance of representation from all categories, and critical status.
News of the critical status of the Pangolin made my decision for me.
The Pangolin (second from left) is the most illegally trafficked animal on the face of the Earth, poached and slaughtered for their scales. For the same reason rhinos are being hunted to extinction (magical powers assigned to another body part). Their scales, ironically, are used for protection in the wild,...