Alice E. Gray (June 7, 1914 - April 27, 1994) is an American entomologist and origami known as "Mrs. Bug" from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Video Alice Gray
Early life and education
Gray was born on June 7, 1914 from the father of the engineer and the peasant mother. He was attracted by insects as a child. His mother, when asked by Alice to keep the insects she caught, agrees on condition that Alice learns what they eat at dinner, leading her into an amateur entomologist at a young age. While still in high school, he knew he wanted to work at the American Museum of Natural History, and called the Insects and Soul Department to ask about the job. Based on the advice he received from the then chairman, Frank E. Lutz, he enrolled and attended Cornell University, studying biology and entomology and training in scientific illustrations.
Maps Alice Gray
Entomologists at the American Museum of Natural History
After graduating from Cornell in 1937, he started working with the museum and remained there until he retired.
He is proven to be a skilled illustrator, modeler and writer, and engages in various public relations and communication activities. He writes for museum publications, builds multiple display departments, builds large models, and pictorial entomology handouts that are still in use by 2016.
One of his projects was the creation of a large-scale insect he called a "model monster". He explained the modeling process and its purpose in a long article at Mechanix Illustrated in 1945. The first model he took took six months to produce, take pain to ensure its accuracy. "Well-made models are texts and treasures... Of the hundreds of people who every day pass through these models in museums, many never see them.Anyone just glances and swallows.However, there are some who, look, see and remember that for them all the modeling of the museum is done. "He cites a louse as one example of his work:" Ticks made big enough to serve six people at dinner with microscope lenses, stands exposed as the most efficient and efficient that can slip between the hairs. "
As a Scientific Assistant at the Department of Entomology, Gray is the primary educator and communicator on insect problems. In addition to working inside the museum, he brought insects and spiders to public schools in New York, performing in the classroom and finally earning the nickname "Mrs. Bug" through his outreach efforts. He appeared with insects on television in the 1960s and 1970s, including the episode of The Tonight Show.
Origami
Gray's first encounter with origami was when he bought a book on the subject based on a picture of a cricket on the cover. He considered it a hobby, but his interest deepened after meeting Lillian Oppenheimer in the 1960s. Oppenheimer is credited with popularizing origami in the United States, and Gray sees in his collection of arts and crafts that can be taken seriously. Gray offers to overload and organize collections, in a project that soon after that is the cover story of Originian . In 1964, when the editors and art directors of the magazine left their positions, Gray filled both, first as a temporary measure and then permanently.
In 1978 he co-founded, with Oppenheimer and Michael Shall, the nonprofit Friends of the Origami Center in New York. He gained international recognition for his work on developing models, writing books, and generally supporting the paperfolding community. Gray secures the office for the public inside the museum that continues to occupy in 2016. His name changed to Origami USA when Oppenheimer died in 1992, and remains the largest origami organization in the United States.
Folding paper to make toys and models of insects are also part of his work at the museum. He introduced the idea of ​​using origami insects to decorate a Christmas tree in a museum. In the following years, it became popular to decorate trees with not only insects but origami representations from many areas of the museum. When it attracted the attention of the Trustee's Exhibition Committee, AMNH's Origami Vacation Tree became an annual tradition, still active in 2016.
When Japanese publications sought to create a novice origami book for American schoolchildren, it recruited Gray to work with renowned Japanese artist Kunihiko Kasahara about what would become The Magic of Origami , released in 1977 with Oppenheimer credited as a photographer.
The origami butterfly named "The Alice" is dedicated to Gray by artist Michael LaFosse in 1992.
Next life
Gray retired from the museum in 1980, after 43 years, but remained involved as a volunteer. The following year, he was given the title of "scientific assistant emeritus". Among other activities, he continues to help with public communication and participate in the creation of origami insects for the museum Christmas tree. He also continued to be active in the origami community, serving as president of the organization he helped to find, Friends of the Origami Center of America, from 1985-1989. He died in Norwalk, Connecticut, on April 27, 1994. at the age of 79 years
References
External links
- Model Monster - an article Gray wrote to Mechanix Illustrated in 1945 about his large insect model
- Alice Gray's Profile in the spring issue of 1967 on The Originian
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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