Ladies of the Sea

by Andrew Spencer

“Two-thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer's. For the sea is his; he owns it.”
                     —Moby Dick

Melville’s account of the island of Nantucket captured the true spirit of the island’s populace.  Nantucket was, at the time, the financial epicenter of the world’s whale oil market, and the local residents in those days truly felt that the sea was their home, their territory.  Melville went so far as to call the world’s oceans the Nantucketer’s “empire.”

Although Nantucket’s dominance as the world’s whaling capital waned with time, the island’s connection to the vast ocean around it still thrives today, and the Nantucket Historical Association will be celebrating the sea in the coming days with two world-class events that are not to be missed:  A day with Chilean visual artist Magaly Ponce, and a visit from one of the world’s greatest undersea archaeologists, Dr. Kelly Gleason.

On Friday, August 12, Chilean-born artist Magaly Ponce will lead two programs at the Whaling Museum: A Family Discovery Day followed by a lecture that same evening.  Ponce is an international artistic sensation, who has spent recent years researching the behaviors and characteristics of whales. She has created a travelling art exhibition entitled “Insight-s: A Multimedia Installation in Three Continents” based on her studies. Her work is simultaneously literal and metaphorical. Everyday items – glass tubes, plastic water bottles, light bulbs – combine to create artistic expressions of majestic whales, while at the same time suggesting the perils associated with the whales’ imminent extinction.

Beginning with the Family Discovery Day program at 2 p.m., Ponce will work with budding artists of all ages to explore ways in which they can draw creative inspiration from nature.  Participants in this workshop will have a hands-on opportunity to work as Ponce’s assistants, helping her to create a large-scale whale sculpture in her signature style.  For those more interested in personal creation, Ponce will also be providing guidance on creative projects crafted from recycled materials, which will be available on-site. The Family Discovery Day workshop runs from 2-4 p.m. on Aug. 12, and will take place inside the Nantucket Whaling Museum in the Discovery Room. It is recommended for children ages five and up, and participation is free with paid admission to the Whaling Museum.

Later that same evening at 7 p.m., Ponce will deliver a lecture about her traveling exhibition in Gosnell Hall in the Nantucket Whaling Museum. After its initial creation in Rhode Island, Ponce’s exhibition has “migrated” to Cape Verde and Lisbon, mimicking the routes of the migrating whales from which she draws her inspiration. Drawing on her own experiences and illustrating her lecture with images of her own work, Ponce will discuss the years she spent studying whales, what the great animals taught her and how that education influenced her own life and work. Tickets are $10 for NHA members and $15 for non-members, and may be purchased at the door. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.. For more information, call the Nantucket Historical Association’s Melissa Kershaw at 508-228, 1894, ext. 117.

Another legendary young woman who has recently made waves in the maritime and museum world is Dr. Kelly Gleason, the underwater archaeologist who discovered the wreck of the Two Brothers, a 19th century Nantucket whaleship that hit a reef in shallow water somewhere near French Frigate Shoal off the coast of Hawaii in 1823. The ship sank quickly, and disappeared below the water, never to be seen again.

Never to be seen again, that is, until a pioneering underwater archaeologist happened upon a massive anchor while doing research six hundred miles north of Honolulu in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. That anchor led to other discoveries – try-pots, harpoons and various other artifacts – that were meticulously photographed and cataloged. That research was paired with the knowledge base of local experts – specifically that of Ben Simons, the Robyn and John Davis Chief Curator of the NHA’s Research Library, and nationally-renowned island historian Nathaniel Philbrick – which in turn led to the identification of the wreck as being that of the Two Brothers.

The Nantucket Historical Association, together with the Egan Maritime Institute, will be hosting Dr. Gleason on Tuesday, August 16, at 6 p.m., when she will be talking about her discovery at a lecture at the Whaling Museum, with a cocktail reception on the museum’s rooftop deck immediately following. The NHA has even planned a temporary photography exhibit of both the wreck site and the recovered artifacts to complement Gleason’s lecture.

Tickets for this special evening are limited, and advance reservations are required. Tickets are $50 each, and proceeds benefit programs at the Nantucket Historical Association and the Egan Maritime Institute’s Maritime Festival. For more information, call Melissa Kershaw at the Nantucket Historical Association, 508-228-1894, ext. 117, or email her at melissa@nha.org.