Author to Address ‘Deep Structure of the Arts’

Ellen Dissanayake, an independent scholar who explores the idea that the arts are inherent features of human nature, will deliver the Hogue-Sponenburgh Lecture at 8 p.m. Oct. 9 in Cone Chapel at Willamette University. The event is free and open to the public.

Dissanayake, affiliate professor in the School of Music at the University of Washington, will address “The Deep Structure of the Arts.” Linguists and music theorists describe the “deep structure” of language and music, referring to the innate rules followed by speakers of all languages or music’s underlying structure of chords and rhythmic patterns. Dissanayake says a similar idea applies to the arts, where the underlying principles of our nature as humans influence the making of our own arts and our responses to the works of others.

Dissanayake’s original “adaptationist” or Darwinian approach draws upon the years she lived and worked in non-Western countries, including Sri Lanka, Nigeria, India, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea. She has published three books: What is Art For? (1988), Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes From and Why (1992) and Art & Intimacy: How the Arts Began (2000). She has addressed audiences nationally and internationally on biomusicology, human ecology and comparative literature, developmental psychology and other topics.

The Hogue-Sponenburgh art lectureship, established and endowed by the late Janeth Hogue-Sponenburgh and Mark Sponenburgh, enables the Willamette University Department of Art and Art History to bring a noted scholar, artist, critic, curator or art leader to campus each year to deliver a lecture and to meet informally with students and faculty. For more information, contact Andries Fourie at (503) 370-6258 or afourie@willamette.edu.

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Willamette Scores High on Sustainability Report Card

A 2009 report card from the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave Willamette University an “A” and named it a leader for its sustainability efforts in food and recycling, green building and investment priorities. Willamette’s overall score of a “B” was higher than any other small liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest.

The College Sustainability Report Card evaluates sustainability initiatives from the 300 colleges with the largest endowments in the U.S. and Canada.

Willamette was recognized as a leader for reducing waste and purchasing food from local, organic farmers; following green building guidelines for all new construction and renovations; and aiming to optimize investment return and investing in renewable energy funds. The university also scored high and was singled out as a leader for its administration’s efforts.

This is the second time in recent months that Willamette’s initiatives have been recognized nationally. In the country’s largest survey to date, the National Wildlife Federation recognized Willamette as first in the nation for sustainability activities.

Read the entire report card at www.greenreportcard.org. To learn more about Willamette’s sustainability efforts, go to www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability.

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Regalia Exhibition Includes Teacher Workshop and Gallery Talks

In conjunction with its fall exhibition, The Art of Ceremony: Regalia of Native Oregon, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University will host free gallery talks and a workshop for teachers interested in bringing their classes to see the exhibition.

Elizabeth Garrison, the museum’s Cameron Paulin Curator of Education, will teach the workshop Oct. 1 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the museum. The purpose is to help teachers prepare students for a field trip to the museum, develop strategies to tour the exhibition, and propose ideas that reinforce the gallery experience and broaden curriculum concepts back in the classroom. The workshop is free, but advance registration is required by calling (503) 370-6855.

The museum also will host a series of free gallery talks about the exhibition. Garrison or a museum docent will lead talks Tuesdays, Sept. 30 through Jan. 13, from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Willamette University students will present talks Saturdays in October from 1 to 1:30 p.m.

The Art of Ceremony: Regalia of Native Oregon, on display Sept. 28 through Jan. 18, is a major exhibition of historic and contemporary regalia from all nine of Oregon’s federally recognized Native American tribes, much of which is rarely seen by the general public. Organized by Willamette Anthropology Professor Rebecca Dobkins in partnership with the tribes, the exhibition is designed to introduce non-tribal audiences to the history, beauty and function of regalia within tribal life and thought.

The Oregon Arts Commission, with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, selected the exhibition as the state’s 2008 American Masterpieces project. Additional support has been provided by an endowment gift from The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, and by grants from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Fund, the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds, the Oregon Arts Commission, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and a Millicent McIntosh Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Mondays. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesdays are admission-free. For more information, call (503) 370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art.

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Hallie Ford Museum of Art Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Dedicates Outdoor Art Piece

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University will dedicate a major new piece of outdoor art and celebrate its 10th anniversary the first week of October.

“It’s hard to believe that we’ve been around for 10 years,” Museum Director John Olbrantz said. “It seems like yesterday that Willamette President Lee Pelton, benefactor Hallie Ford and I cut the ribbon to officially open the museum.”

The new piece of outdoor art, entitled Portals through Time, was created by Ellensburg, Wash., mixed-media artist Dick Elliott for the 45 windows on the second floor of the museum. Each panel measures 69 ¼ x 21 ¾” and consists of safety reflectors in amber, blue, clear, green and red. The piece will be dedicated at a free public ceremony Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. at the museum.

“Each individual panel will represent a unique geometric design, but when viewed as a whole, the panels will add color and excitement to the second floor of our building,” said Olbrantz, who has known Elliott for 25 years. “In addition, Dick’s reflector installation will help raise the visibility of our building and will add a subtle elegance to the structure while respecting the existing architecture.”

Elliott is a nationally recognized mixed-media artist who creates artwork from safety reflectors. His installations have graced the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, the Sun Dome in Yakima, Wash., and numerous schools, transit centers, colleges and airports throughout the U.S. Elliott was recently awarded a Governor’s Arts Award in Washington state for his contributions to the visual arts.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art also will celebrate its 10th anniversary October 3–5 with free admission; cake and refreshments; tours of its permanent collection; door prizes; tours of the special exhibition The Art of Ceremony: Regalia of Native Oregon; drawings for memberships and books; lectures by Olbrantz on the history of the museum; and behind-the-scenes tours of its recently remodeled basement and Print Study Center. All events are free; for a full schedule, visit www.willamette.edu/cal/event.cgi/9010.

The museum was founded in 1998 to serve as an artistic, cultural, and intellectual resource for Willamette University, the City of Salem, the mid-Willamette Valley and beyond. In just one decade, the museum’s accomplishments have included raising more than $4 million toward an endowment fund; publishing 10 major books; creating 14 exhibitions that traveled regionally, nationally and internationally; and increasing visitation from 10,000–15,000 visitors the year it opened to more than 30,000 annual visitors today. The museum includes four permanent galleries focusing on European, Asian, American, Native American and regional art, and two temporary exhibition spaces featuring historical and contemporary art.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from 1–5 p.m. The galleries are closed on Monday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art.

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Sept. 22 Candidates Forum Confirms Participants

Republican Mike Erickson has agreed to join the forum scheduled for tonight, Sept. 22, at 5:30 p.m. in Cone Chapel in Waller Hall at Willamette University. Erickson will be seated with three additional candidates for the seat to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley. They are Democrat Kurt Schrader, Libertarian Steve Milligan, and Green Party candidate Alex Polikoff. Willamette University President Lee Pelton will serve as moderator.

The event, co-sponsored by Willamette University and the Oregon League of Minority Voters, will also include as panelists Randall Edwards, Oregon State Treasurer; Gale Castillo, president of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Portland; and Sho Dozono, president and CEO of Azumano Travel, Portland.

The event is free and open to the public.

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