ματιεσ τησ Κρητησ (glimpses of Crete) /  by Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D.

Journal notes and photographs of my trips to Crete over the years have been speaking to me recently. My goal is to bring the background, the unseen, and the overlooked into the foreground with this new series entitled ματιεσ τησ Κρητησ (glimpses of Crete). Here are a handful of many more oil paintings to come in this series. #crete #cretan #cretanlife #archanes #cretanvillage #cretanview #cretancountryside #cretanart

σθκα (figs) on roadside near Archanes, Crete.

σθκα (figs) on roadside near Archanes, Crete.

κόκκινος θόλος (red dome), near Nea Myrtos, Crete

κόκκινος θόλος (red dome), near Nea Myrtos, Crete

πέτρινος τοίχος (stone wall) outside museum near Archanes, Crete

πέτρινος τοίχος (stone wall) outside museum near Archanes, Crete

μπλε θόλος (blue dome)

μπλε θόλος (blue dome)

Εξαφανισμενη ΖΩΗ (Vanishing LIFE) /  by Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D.

Oil on canvas (48x48”)©Eugene G Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Adaptation of 1,600 BCE Xeste 3 fresco at Akrotiri, Thera depicting the generation of life, growth, and continuance of life cycles derived from the sun disc, allomorph of the Minoan Great Mother Goddess, source of all of life (Marinatos, 2018; Papaodysseus et al., 2006). Minoan and other ancient cultures across the globe celebrated and revered the lifegiving energy of the sun and the interconnectedness of all life for eons, a fact of the natural world ecologists have labeled “interdependence of all life forms via interconnected food webs” – vis-a-vis “web of life.”

To me, this fractured and disintegrating fresco eroded by natural forces over millennia is a fitting metaphor for the current loss of biodiversity on Earth by human activities (i.e., climate change, habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, pollution, population growth, and over-consumption). Over a 40+year period (1970-2016), population levels of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes have dropped an average of 68 percent – the most alarming is the 94 percent decline of populations in tropical American subregions (Almond et al., 2020). Embrace the concept of Half-Earth by Dr. E. O. Wilson (2016) to “protect half the land and sea in order to manage habitat to reverse species extinction and ensure the long-term health of our planet.” It is not too late to fully accept the fundamental axiom of the life-giving forces of the natural world and act accordingly. #minoan #minoanart #crete #minoancivilization #biodiversity2020 #nature #conservation #environment #conservation #wildlife #biologia #natura #savetheplanet

Almond, R.E.A., M. Grooten, and T. Petersen, (Eds). 2020. Living Planet Report 2020: Bending the Curve on Biodiversity Loss. World Wildlife Fund, Gland, Switzerland. 159 p. Marinatos, N. 2018. The Waz-Spirals of Xeste 3, Thera: Regeneration and Solar Symbolism (pp. 77-85). In A. G. Vlachopoulos (Ed.). 2018. Paintbrushes: Wall-painting and Vase-Painting of the Second Millennium BC in Dialogue. Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports – Archaeological Receipts Fund. 605 p. Papaodysseus, C., T. Panagopoulos, M. Exarhos, D. Fragoulis, G. Roussopoulos, P. Rousopoulos, G. Galanopoulos And C. Triantafillou, A. Vlachopoulos And C. Doumas. 2006. Distinct, Late Bronze Age (c. 1650 BC) Wall-Paintings from Akrotiri, Thera, Comprising Advanced Geometrical Patterns. Archaeometry 48(1):97-114. Wilson, E. O. 2016. Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 258 p.

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Fibonacci Feeding /  by Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D.

EGM-159 – Oil on canvas (48x48”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. Adaptation of aerial drone view of bubble curtain created in a Fibonacci pattern by a team of three Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The Humpbacks used the curtain to trap and feed on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in Antarctic Ocean, March 2020. Modified from video with permission by Richard Sidey, filmmaker and nature photographer, www.richardsidey.com. To date, Humpback and Bryde’s whales are the only cetaceans known to use a Fibonacci pattern bubble curtain to feed.

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