G O G R E AT E R
THE ARTS: BY BRANDON MCKINLEY (BMUS, BSPR ’17) & GRACE LANDEFELD (BA DANCE ’19)
Our home planet has over 2.3 million named species. Humans are only one of millions of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals. Yet our existence has an impact that intertwines with the immense network of relationships that define life on Earth. Understandably, our planet’s inhabitants have a very complex and extensive family tree. But University of Florida scientists have successfully mapped the most comprehensive Tree of Life to date. Doug and Pam Soltis, distinguished scientists and professors at the Florida Museum of Natural History, served as principal investigators on the team. Their Tree of Life displays the shared evolutionary history of and relationships between all known living things. To celebrate the development of this project, the Florida Museum of Natural History hosted One Tree, One Planet, an event series throughout UF’s campus and the Gainesville community. Together with the College of the Arts, the museum welcomed internationally acclaimed artist and architect Naziha Mestaoui to represent the Tree of Life through digital projection artwork on a live oak tree. On Nov. 17, 2017, the Paris-based artist— known for her projections on the Eiffel Tower—unveiled the Live Oak Tree of Life in Gainesville’s Innovation Square alongside scientists and leaders of the UF and local communities. To accompany the light projection, Mestaoui worked with a composer to transform the genome common to all life on Earth into music. The amino acids from this common DNA sequence were translated into notes to
9 MUSE | 2018
