Christina Pettersson
I grew up in Miami and went to waterski shows at the stadium as a kid, but only learned its person of dedication because of this art project. My subsequent study into the life of Ralph Monroe proved to be a serendipitous endeavor. I have long enjoyed local history, and anyone delving into Miami’s past should know him, and this is especially true to understanding the Marine Stadium’s hallowed position on the bay. Before Flagler’s train, Monroe’s pioneer era existed solely upon Biscayne Bay. His love of boating and his experience designing and racing them on the bay in those wild years, makes him the ideal character for the legacy of Miami Marine Stadium, and its hope for the future.
My video and photographs, taken underwater at adjoining Virginia Key, as if the chair landed there in a storm, are overlaid with his fictionalized obituary, which I pieced together from Miami Herald archives. Click here to view the video for this artwork.
