Theodore Roosevelt is long remembered for his porch-side chats at his Sagamore Hill home. They were attended by hundreds of listeners who crowded a hill overlooking Oyster Bay Cove.
These chats undoubtedly addressed conservation, the National Forest Service and other topics, including his championing the suffragettes who also congregated on this historic lawn. The exhibition honors those talks, and topics that remain critically important today.
On that same ground, 200 sculptures of Roosevelt Elk, many of them eight feet in length and all from recycled aluminum donated by Alcoa, appear to be waiting for TR to step out and share his vision with them. They embody the spirit of conservation TR lived and inspired, and again remind us of its necessity and promise. Further, as the vast majority of them are female, they give a subtle nod to TR’s having been a great and outspoken champion of women’s rights.
Their shiny metal forms reflect their natural surroundings as well as visitors who, in turn, are challenged to reflect on their personal relationship with conservation, guided by the larger exhibit’s exploration of the science and history of the movement to date.
Importantly, as this exhibit has been designed to serve as a real-world model of conservation awareness, much of it has been produced from post-consumer recycled materials. The elk forms were in fact created from recycled aluminum generously donated by Alcoa Corporation. In that light, the elk are destined for return to the smelter, effectively completing their own circle of life, with their constituent elements being recycled and even upcycled into future uses.