Seaplants are fascinating subjects for artistic and scientific study
Phycology, the scientific study of seaplants, is an intellectual pursuit that goes beyond simply being "useful". It is a rewarding field of endeavour in its own right. We seaplant people realise that these marvelous photosynthesising organisms are essential to global ecosystems and are even largely responsible for providing us with the breath of life. This realisation gives added impetus to our study of how they function. Along with the study of phycology comes the appreciation of the aesthetic aspects of seaplants. Most people who have collected seaplants and mounted them on herbarium paper have proudly framed mounts of especially attractive seaplants and have placed them on our walls; or we have mounted seaplants in plastic to create three-dimensional examples of seaplant art. Some artists have gone beyond this to create works of art that incorporate seaplants as a medium. Another area of seaplant art that is worthy of note is the field of photography. We have all seen awesome pictures of "kelp forests" and photos of shorelines that exhibit the subtle hues of seaweeds in the intertidal zone. The DiveBorneo Associates who create the content of this site are all seaweed scientists and/or artists. It is one of our major missions that we develop the site as a comprehensive source of literature, information and works of art that pertain to seaplants. In doing so we do not seek to replace; but rather to complement sites that are pursuing similar mission; one notable example being the Seaweed Site of Dr. Michael Guiry where a wealth of information and photographs can be seen and experienced. |
