Mystic Seaport Museum Opens Alexis Rockman: Oceanus Show For Art And Ocean Lovers

Not much changes course in the town of Mystic, Connecticut. The former bustle of the post-colonial seaport’s whaling industry has since aged into a charming coastal vacation spot, where the 1988 film Mystic Pizza still holds weight 35 years later and boat lovers passionately visit the ship parts housed at the Mystic Seaport Museum. The town is now synonymous with white majority coastal elites, a slightly salty insider bastion of WASP tourist culture: fried oysters, nautical sweaters, and stunningly preserved captains’ house architecture along calm waters.

But the team at the Mystic Seaport Museum decided they needed to rock the boat with a splashy commissioned show of ocean paintings by Alexis Rockman that opened May 27th in the beautifully constructed Thompson Exhibition Building (designed in 2016 on the picturesque waterfront). 10 watercolors and one oil painting feature in the show.

Rockman, who has a home in Warren, Connecticut, previously exhibited at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1999, and more recently, the Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York. The artist often focuses on a specific ecosystem, such as the jungles of Guyana, the Great Lakes of Michigan, or the Gowanus Canal. This show expertly intersects the interests of children, climate activists, and art lovers. Born in 1962, he has dedicated his career to oceanic and animalier scenes with an intrinsic environmentalist message, which deeply resonated with the seaport’s love of oceans.

Although Oceanus provides a uniquely sweeping discourse on human interference across global oceans, Rockman worked closely with the Mystic Seaport’s rich collection of resources to sprinkle the showcase with reflections on both their inventory and environs. In the sprawling 8-by-24-foot panoramic oil Oceanus, Rockman fathomed the ships (large vessels along the water and small ship models in storage) housed in the Mystic Seaport collection. From shore to sea depth, it seems as though no corner of the ocean is left uncharted, with creatures given great scholarship that ripples into broader discourse.

There is also a significant interest in the evolution of human intervention on biodiversity, particularly as it relates the shifts from introductory to invasive species, again working with the region to learn what had found its way into the local Mystic River and the greater Stonington Harbor.

The catalogue, published by Rizzoli and replete with essays by Sylvia Earle and other marine specialists, Professor Emeritus of Marine Sciences at Williams College (and Director Emeritus of the Coastal & Ocean Studies program in tandem with the Mystic Seaport Museum) James T. Carlton dives into detail about the European lightbulb sea squirt, American comb jelly, and the Asian shore crab, all found in local waters despite coming from far and wide. Although macro factors such as earthquakes and tsunamis were often the culprits, Carlton’s research points to floating plastic debris as the cause of travel, as they allow organisms to live much longer than prior biodegradable options. In the meantime, Carlton and Rockman alike address species gone extinct, such as the West Indian monk seal and the Arctic stellar sea cow.

Certainly, the intention of the showcase is to sound the alarm on climate change, but also to celebrate the beauty and innovation of the future. After all, Mystic was once a polluted, densely populated place killing the majestic whales of local waters, and it has been able to change course over time into a picturesque and relatively sustainable enclave. Mystic Seaport’s Senior Vice President of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Director of Museum Galleries Christina Connett Brophy, previously of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, chose to highlight the developments of sugar kelp superfood snacks by Stonington Kelp Co. and lionfish pelt sneakers from the Italian brand P448, in which the oceans might be better preserved by our choices rather than destroyed.

In a world where climate change discourse takes either passive or radical turns, this current is one of hope. Either way, it is a beautiful exhibition, and one that promises to be a family favorite for those who visit the region throughout the summer season.