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¡Hola! Mi nombre es Denis Alexander Torres, soy geógrafo de profesión y artista por vocación. Durante más de 3 décadas he estado involucrado en el desarrollo de diferentes iniciativas de investigación y conservación ambiental en Los Andes y Llanos de Venezuela.
Una frase célebre del filósofo chino Confucio reza " Cada cosa tiene su belleza, pero no todos pueden verla" y quiero citarla como preámbulo a esta propuesta de arte y educación ambiental.
Aunque las dantas o tapires son muy importantes desde el punto de visto ecológico y cultural, muchas personas las perciben como animales sin importancia aparente, extravagantes o feos. Yo no comparto esta opinión…
Esa percepción ha prevalecido incluso entre muchas de las grandes organizaciones que financian proyectos de conservación ambiental, las cuales prefieren orientar el apoyo a las especies más carismáticas por su apariencia física (por ejemplo, el gorila de montaña, el tigre, el oso polar, el panda o los rinocerontes, por mencionar algunas). Esta política afianzada y equivocada ha ignorado tradicionalmente a las dantas. De ahí, la importancia de afianzar acciones pragmáticas donde la gente se sienta motivada a participar y formar parte de un esfuerzo común en aras de proteger a estas fascinantes criaturas y sus hábitats. Lo más satisfactorio de contribuir con cualquier causa es ver reflejado los aportes en hechos palpables para que las buenas intenciones no se evaporen en sostener estructuras burocráticas, propias de las grandes organizaciones.
¿UN MUNDO DANTÁSTICO?
“Un Mundo Dantástico” es una iniciativa basada en el desarrollo de caricaturas de dantas o tapires personificando iconos de la cultural pop. Esta iniciativa surgió de manera espontánea en abril del año 2020 cuando le mostré a mi sobrino Mathías (actualmente con 7 años de edad) la foto de un tapir malayo con su llamativo contraste de color blanco y negro y él me comentó que parecía un “tapir panda”. En ese momento se me ocurrió hacer la caricatura de un tapir malayo parodiando a la película Kung-fu Panda… así surgió “Kung-fu Danta”. Desde entonces, esta divertida aventura creativa me ha permitido hacer más de 70 ilustraciones que representan a, por lo menos, 50 personajes populares en su forma de danta. Como el foco de esta iniciativa son estas extraordinarias criaturas, el proyecto lo bauticé “Un Mundo Dantástico”. Este título implica una visión optimista donde las dantas y los humanos podamos compartir un ambiente en equilibrio y armonía; donde el respeto hacia la naturaleza y todas sus formas de vida alcance la conciencia de la gente y donde nos identifiquemos con esos personajes de la cultura pop que nos agradan y en ocasiones se vuelven parte de nuestros alter ego.
UN TRABAJO SOSTENIDO
Desde abril del año 2020 he estado difundiendo las ilustraciones de “Un Mundo Dantástico” a través de Internet usando la etiqueta o hashtag #unmundodantastico. El alcance ha sido muy positivo y mayor al esperado. Esta iniciativa la he llevado adelante por amor al arte y a las dantas, literalmente, ya que no cuenta con financiamiento. Solo el año pasado recibí algunas contribuciones por parte de 6 personas (Kai Tubbesin, Ingrid Carolina Rodríguez, Gillian O’Grady, Lisa Kadonaga, Patricia Bünnagel y Stephanie Pearson) que me apoyaron a través de una campaña similar a esta. Ese respaldo me ayudó a sostener la iniciativa por algunos meses.
PROMOVIENDO A LAS DANTAS COMO EMBAJADORAS DE A CONSERVACIÓN
Estoy seguro que muchas personas que desconocían o no habían prestado atención a las dantas, han comenzado a interesarse más por su importancia y conservación al ver las ilustraciones de “Un Mundo Dantástico”.
En paralelo a este trabajo de arte, también he desarrollado contenidos e ilustraciones para los materiales educativos, orientados principalmente al público infantil, producidos por “ La Casa del Tapir”, un centro de educación ambiental virtual que forma parte del Proyecto Danta de la Fundación AndígenA. Esta iniciativa educativa ha contado también con el valioso apoyo financiero de varias personas que han creído y confiado en nuestra labor. La intención de La Casa del Tapir es dar a conocer a las dantas a nivel público, usando un lenguaje sencillo, pero sustentado en el conocimiento científico para evitar conceptos errados que contribuyan a la desinformación.
¿CUÁL ES LA META DE ESTA PROPUESTA?
Hasta el presente, he completado 3 series de ilustraciones de “Un Mundo Dantástico” que suman más de 70; Así mismo, he comenzado a desarrollar una cuarta serie que quiero continuar durante el resto del año 2021 y comienzo del 2022. La meta de esta campaña es obetener apoyo financiero para producir 4 productos editoriales:
1) un sitio web donde pueda colocar todas las ilustraciones de Un Mundo Dantástico (más de 70 ilustraciones y bocetos) y productos derivados,
2) un Calendario Digital para celebrar el año 2022,
3) un Cuaderno para Colorear para regalar al público infantil y
4) un libro divulgativo en formato digital que llevaría por título “Al Arte de Un Mundo Dantástico”, el cual incluiría todas las ilustraciones hechas durante el año 2020 y 2021 con algunas variantes, bocetos, información sobre cada personaje representado y un capítulo con información general sobre la historia natural de dantas y su importancia como símbolos de conservación en los trópicos.
Cada aporte que reciba mediante esta campaña me permitirá sostener la creatividad y el trabajo de manera continua. Así mismo, me permitirá pagar los gastos mensuales del servicio de Internet, la compra de un dominio para el sitio web de “Un Mundo Dantastico”, la compra de materiales de arte, el pago de servicios técnicos para el mantenimiento de la computadora y cubrir algún honorario profesional que implique la participación de un diseñador gráfico profesional para la producción de los proyectos editoriales.
Tu contribución será recompensada de varias maneras:
- Recibirás el Calendario Digital “Un Año Dantástico 2022” en diciembre 2021.
- Si aportas 20 dólares o más, tu nombre será incorporado como patrocinador en todos los materiales producidos y en los reconocimientos públicos a través del sitio web de “La Casa del Tapir” y su página en Facebook. Así mismo, recibirás una copia digital en alta resolución de una de las ilustraciones de Un Mundo Dantástico y un Certificado de Agradecimiento en formato digital.
- Si tu aporte es de 50 dólares o más recibirás todos los regalos anteriores y tendrás además la oportunidad única de sugerir el desarrollo de una ilustración que haré con mucho gusto a solicitud. Esta obra formará parte del libro con un reconocimiento especial para ti y recibirás también una copia digital en exclusiva de esa imagen y el libro en formato digital.
No obstante, la mayor recompensa que recibiremos todos los que creemos en este proyecto será incrementar el interés popular por la conservación de las dantas y sus mágicos hogares, muy especialmente entre el público infantil.
“ Al final, conservaremos sólo lo que amamos, amaremos sólo lo que entendemos, entenderemos sólo que nos enseñaron ”. Baba Dioum .
Hello! My name is Denis Alexander Torres, I am geographer by profession and an artist by vocation. For more than 3 decades I have been involved in several environmental research and conservation initiatives in Los Andes and Llanos (savannahs) from Venezuela.
A famous quote by the Chinese philosopher Confucius says "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it" and I want to refer it as preamble to this proposal of art and environmental education.
Although tapirs are very important from an ecological and cultural point of view, many people perceive them as animals without apparent importance, extravagant or even “ugly”. I do not share that opinion... This perception has prevailed even among many of the large organizations devoted to wildlife conservation, which prefer to prioritize the financial support toward most charismatic species due to their physical appearance (for instance, the mountain gorilla, tiger, polar bear, giant panda or rhinos, to name just a few). This misguided policy usually leaves out the tapirs. Hence, the importance of strengthening pragmatic actions where people feel motivated to participate and their contributions can be reflected in tangible facts instead of disappear in the bureaucratic structures of large organizations.
“Danta” is the most popular name for “tapir” in Latin America. "Un Mundo Dantástico" could be translated as “a fantastic world of tapirs”. This is the title of this initiative based on the development of cartoons focused on tapirs personifying icons of pop culture.
This initiative arose spontaneously on april 2020 when I showed a photo of a Malayan tapir, with its striking contrast of black and white color, to my nephew Mathías (He is 7 years old currently). He told me that it looked like a “panda tapir” (LOL). Those spontaneous comment inspired me to draw the cartoon of a Malay tapir parodying the movie Kung-fu Panda ... that's how “Kung-fu Danta” came about and since then this fun adventure has allowed me to produce more than 70 illustrations of popular characters in their “tapir form”.
The title of this project “Un Mundo Dantastico” implies an optimistic vision where tapirs and humans can share an environment in harmony and balance; where respect for nature and all its forms of life reaches people's consciences and where we identify with those characters from pop culture that we like and sometimes become part of our alter ego.
A SUSTAINED WORK
Since April 2020, I have been spreading the illustrations of "Un Mundo Dantastico" through the Internet using the hashtag #unmundodantastico. The scope has been very positive and greater than expectedHowever, On last year I received contributions from 6 wonderful people (Kai Tubbesin, Ingrid Carolina Rodríguez, Gillian O'Grady, Lisa Kadonaga, Patricia Bünnagel and Stephanie Pearson) who supported me through a crowdfunding campaign. Although this support helped me sustain the initiative for a few months, I have carried out it until now for the love of art and tapirs, literally...
PROMOTING THE TAPIRS AS AMBASSADORS FOR CONSERVATION
I am pretty sure that many people who were unaware or had not paid attention to tapirs, began to be interested in their importance and conservation when they saw the illustrations of "Un Mundo Dantastico".
In parallel to this artistic work, I have also develop the content and illustrations for the educational materials about tapir natural history and conservation sponsored by “La Casa del Tapir”, a virtual environmental education center endorsed by AndigenA Foundation's “Tapir Project. This educational initiative has also had the valuable financial support from a small number of people who have believed and trusted in our work. The aim of “La Casa del Tapir” is to spread information about tapirs to the public, using simple language, but supported by scientific knowledge to avoid misconceptions that contribute to misinformation.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL?
At present, 3 series of illustrations are alredy done and I would like to expand to a fourth series in the near future. The goal of this crowdfunding campaign is to get financial support to produce four main (4) editorial products:
1) A Website where I can place all the illustrations of “Un Mundo Dantastico”.
2) A Digital Calendar to celebrate the year 2022
3) A Coloring Book to give free to children and
4) An informative digital book that would be entitled “El Arte de Un Mundo Dantastico”, which will include all the illustrations made during the years 2020-2021 with some variants, sketches, information on each character drawn and a chapter with general information about natural history of tapirs and their importance as conservation symbols in the tropics.
Each contribution that I receive through this campaign will allow me to sustain the creativity and work continuously during this year. Likewise, it will allow me to pay the monthly expenses of the Internet service, the purchase of art supplies, the payment of some technical service for the maintenance of the computer and to cover a professional fee that involves the participation of a professional graphic designer.
Your contribution will be rewarded in several ways:
- You will receive the Digital Calendar “A Dantastic Year 2022” on December 2020.
- If you contribution is 20 US $ or more, your name will be recognized as sponsor in all materials produced. Likewise, you will receive a high resolution digital copy of one of the illustrations and a Certificate of Gratitude in digital format.
- If your contribution is 50 US $ or more you will receive all of the above gifts plus the unique opportunity to suggest the development of an illustration that I will gladly make upon request. This artwork will be part of the book with the special recognition and you will also receive an exclusive digital copy of this image as well as digital book.
However, the greatest reward for all te people involved in this project will be to increase popular interest toward tapir conservation and their magical homes, especially among children.
UPDATES
I will be providing updates and work progress through the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LaCasaDelTapir/ and the website: https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com/
“ In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught .” Baba Dioum.
Perks
You will receive: - A Digital Calendar “A Dantastic Year 2022” on December 2021. - Certificate of Gratitude in digital format. - An Exclusive Coloring Book with illustrations from "Un Mundo Dantástico". - Your name will be featured as sponsor in all materials produced by this initiative.
You will receive: - A Digital Calendar “A Dantastic Year 2022” on December 2021. - Certificate of Gratitude in digital format. - An Exclusive Coloring Book with illustrations from "Un Mundo Dantástico". - Your name will be featured as sponsor in all materials produced by this initiative. - 3 high resolution digital illustrations. - I will make an illustration upon your request and you will get a high res digital copy of this illustration.
Highlights
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You will receive: - A Digital Calendar “A Dantastic Year 2022” on December 2021. - Certificate of Gratitude in digital format. - An Exclusive Coloring Book with illustrations from "Un Mundo Dantástico". - Your name will be featured as sponsor in all materials produced by this initiative.
You will receive: - A Digital Calendar “A Dantastic Year 2022” on December 2021. - Certificate of Gratitude in digital format. - An Exclusive Coloring Book with illustrations from "Un Mundo Dantástico". - Your name will be featured as sponsor in all materials produced by this initiative. - 3 high resolution digital illustrations. - I will make an illustration upon your request and you will get a high res digital copy of this illustration.
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