Last Chance to View Unusual Exhibition

“Toi Maori: The Eternal Thread,” a stunning exhibition of traditional and contemporary Maori weaving on loan from New Zealand collections, is scheduled to close on Dec. 22. The exhibition at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University features more than 100 woven items and is the first time a major exhibition of Maori weaving has been presented in the United States. Willamette University is one of only three venues in the world chosen for this exhibition tour.

“For those who want to see a really fine exhibition of Maori weaving, ‘Toi Maori: The Eternal Thread’ should not be missed,” said John Olbrantz, director of the museum.

In the 1950s, New Zealand witnessed a major revival of traditional Maori weaving initiated by a new generation of Maori weavers. In addition to several traditional cloaks created over the past 20 years, the exhibition honors a new generation of artists who have created innovative works of art anchored in the concepts, materials and techniques of the past.

Some of the artists in the exhibition explore non-traditional materials. Lonnie Hutchinson uses paper to create “cut-out” cloaks, while Kataraina Hetet weaves with film leader. Diane Prince has created an ethereal semi-transparent cloak of copper wire, while Erenora Puketapu-Hetet has woven two cloaks, one a traditional cloak, the other from wire, feathers and paua. Multi-media artist Lisa Reihana created digital interpretations of weaving in her evocative video “Tauira,” while Moana Nepia’s “paintings with feathers” challenge tradition notions of Maori weaving.

In addition to the exquisite kakahu (high quality woven cloaks) on display, the exhibition features different types of woven items, including whariki (woven floor mats) and kete (finely woven baskets). Text panels introduce visitors to the history, materials and techniques of contemporary Maori weaving, while large photomurals of ancestors wearing cloaks provide compelling evidence of the significance and continuity of the cloak within traditional Maori culture.

After the exhibition closes in Salem, it will travel to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, where it will be shown during the winter of 2006.

Organized by the Pataka Museum of Arts and Culture in Porirua City, New Zealand, in partnership with Toi Maori Aotearea-Maori Arts New Zealand, the exhibition is supported by a major grant from Te Waka Toi/Creative New Zealand. Local sponsorship has been provided by grants from The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through their Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission and the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State Street (corner of State and Cottage Streets) in downtown Salem near the Willamette University campus. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information call 503-370-6855.

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Eighth Willamette Professor of the Year Named

Willamette University has been honored with eight Oregon Professors of the Year since 1990. The outstanding teachers include economics professor Jerry Gray in 2005, political science professor Suresht Bald in 2003, history professor William Duvall in 1998, physics professor Daniel Montague in 1995, chemistry professor Arthur Payton in 1994, art history professor Roger Hull in 1993, psychology professor Mary Ann Youngren in 1991 and chemistry professor Frances Chapple in 1990.

“To my mind and in the eyes of his students and colleagues, Jerry Gray belongs in this group,” President M. Lee Pelton said of the latest recipient. “He shares his colleagues’ passion for education and, like them, he has fostered in his students an enthusiasm for learning that is the essence of education.”

The Oregon Professor of the Year Award is given by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

To read a story about this year’s recipient, visit: Jerry Gray: 2005 Oregon Professor of the Year.

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Hallie Ford Museum of Art to Close for Thanksgiving

In observance of Thanksgiving, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University will close Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. and reopen Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10 a.m. In addition to permanent galleries devoted to historical and contemporary art, the museum features two special exhibitions through the end of the year.

“Toi Maori: The Eternal Thread” continues through Dec. 22. The exhibition features superb examples of traditional and contemporary Maori weaving, including kakahu (high quality woven cloaks), whariki (woven floor mats), kete (finely woven baskets) and other exquisite woven pieces.

“Albert Patecky: Abstractions” continues through Dec. 22. Organized by Willamette University Professor Roger Hull, the exhibition focuses on Patecky’s experimental, abstract work from the late 1940s through 1966. Works have been selected from a number of regional collections, including the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Patrick Harrington and Ken and Linda Patecky, the artist’s son and daughter-in-law.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State Street (corner of State and Cottage Streets) in downtown Salem near the Willamette University campus. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information call 503-370-6855.

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John Doan Returns to Willamette

“A Victorian Christmas With John Doan,” a holiday tradition in its 19th season, comes to Willamette University Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. The concert, in Willamette’s Hudson Hall, re-enacts what it might have been like to celebrate Christmas a century ago.

“The show explores how Victorians invented many Christmas traditions we remember and quite a few we have forgotten,” the Willamette associate professor of music said. “The aim is to recapture the feeling of a time before radio and TV when our ancestors provided most of their own musical entertainment at home, especially during the holidays.”

Doan will play more than a dozen turn-of-the-century instruments once popular in American parlors, on vaudeville stages and in mandolin orchestras. The 20-string harp guitar, classical banjo and ukelin are a few of the original instruments to be featured. Doan explains their history in an entertaining and often zany fashion, shows slides of old catalogues and archival photographs and leads the audience by singing, or whistling, many of our most beloved American carols. Doan will include several arrangements from his CD, “Wrapped In White, Visions of Christmas Past.”

Doan is a touring and recording artist who has appeared on radio and television across the country.

Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and children under 12 and are available at Willamette’s Music Department or by phone at 503-370-6255. Willamette University students, faculty and staff may acquire free tickets up to one week prior to the event, but tickets are limited. For more information visit www.johndoan.com.

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Rock and Roll: Disturbing New Earthquake Trends

Earthquakes have recently cut a devastating swath through the world, shaking up Pakistan, Japan, India, Peru, Chile, New Guinea and California. So what’s going on?

“Nothing,” said Scott Pike, earth science professor at Willamette University. It’s business as usual for the earth, which sees about one and a half million earthquakes each year.

“We’re seeing normal seismic activity,” Pike said. “What’s new is an increase in devastation due to increased population and environmental degradation.”

Massive deforestation in Pakistan for the past half century has resulted in soil erosion and unstable mountainsides, he said. The recent quake displaced already loose soil, and rainfall caused soil and rocks to form river-like mudflows, which swallowed everything in their path. Boulders lost their grip and crashed down mountainsides, flattening houses below. In all, more than 79,000 people died as a result of the October quake.

“In Pakistan the earthquake itself caused severe damage,” Pike said, “but the post-earthquake damage was just as devastating.”

Could the same scenario unfold in the Pacific Northwest?

Pike said there are major differences between this region and Pakistan. The Himalayas have much steeper slopes than the population centers near the Cascades, and U.S. forest cuts tend to be less extensive and more controlled. But living in the Pacific Northwest isn’t without risks.

“The rush for development in Oregon’s coastal communities has led to construction on unstable slopes,” Pike said. “You have to worry about erosion and landslides into the ocean, and about tsunamis, which are often caused by earthquakes.”

Some Salem homes are at risk, Pike added. “If we were to have a major earthquake we could potentially see landslides in south Salem along the banks of the river. Salem’s higher neighborhoods sit on top of Columbia basalts, a hard rock formation that overlays softer sedimentary rock. Normal erosion activities weaken the sandstone beneath the basalts. On Fairmont Hill, for instance, you can see some scarps from past landslides. There is potential for slippage there during a major quake.”

The earth is like a giant jigsaw puzzle that’s always in flux, said Pike. Tectonic plates float on top of the earth’s plastic mantle, which flows much like a conveyor belt. Where the plates meet, stress builds until its force overcomes friction and the plates suddenly slip.

“The plates don’t move gradually, but in jerky motions,” he said. “They slam into or away from each other, or slide past each other, causing land displacement. When they occur at sea they can result in tsunamis like the one that occurred in Indonesia last December.

“Not all earthquakes are directly related to plate tectonics,” Pike said. There have been large historical earthquakes far from plate boundaries. The earth’s entire surface is always potentially volatile.

According to Pike, many minor quakes occur in Oregon each year.

“A large cluster is concentrated in the southern Cascades, with a small cluster east of Salem. We don’t feel them because they’re so small,” he said. “About 300 years ago there was a major slippage in this area. We can expect a similarly powerful quake within the next 200 years. Unfortunately, our prediction tools are not very precise. We can’t say when it will happen.”

Earthquakes are sometimes a precursor to volcanic eruptions, he added. “An increase in seismic activity near Mount St. Helens tells us that magma is probably on the way up.”

The science of seismology began after the 1906 quake flattened San Francisco.

“We began measuring seismic activity at that time and our understanding of the causes of earthquakes has drastically improved, but earthquakes are still fairly unpredictable.”

In other words, he added, we understand the how but not the when.

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New Office to Aid Faculty

Here’s an OFFRR faculty shouldn’t refuse. It’s the newly created Office for Faculty Research and Resources located in Gatke Hall and directed by Gary Tallman, professor of biology and holder of the Taul Watanable Endowed Chair in Science.

The office, which opened in June, will promote and support faculty research and creative pedagogy for the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Education. Assisting Tallman are Pat Alley, associate director, and Kendra Mingo, grants specialist. While Alley and Mingo will devote their full attention to the new initiative, Tallman will split his time between OFFRR and his teaching and research commitments.

The office will help faculty identify sources of grant funding for research and teaching programs and identify foundations appropriate for both purposes. “We will assist faculty with proposal preparation, grant administration and post-award reporting,” Tallman said. “If a grant is renewable, we’ll assist with that process as well. We are available to help individual faculty and groups of faculty seeking grants for interdisciplinary course work and projects.” OFFRR is currently investigating available databases that will assist faculty with locating funding sources

Educating faculty about the finer points of grantsmanship is another function envisioned for the new office. OFFRR will coordinate workshops for faculty on how to find grant sources and how to write proposals. OFFRR will also encourage faculty members to attend off-campus grant writing workshops.

To get things rolling, the office will sponsor a faculty colloquium, “Securing Grants for Research & Teaching: Faculty Tell Their Stories,” Friday, Oct. 28, at 3 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge. Along with WITS and the International Debate Education Association, OFFRR will also host in Gatke Hall the TGIF event following the colloquium.

According to Tallman, policy development is the fourth objective of OFFRR’s mission. “We will help faculty develop policies related to research that are currently lacking. For example, we have no policy on allocation of indirect costs associated with federal grants that typically cover overhead. We also need policies that address intellectual property and research ethics.”

OFFRR will also attempt to help faculty secure funding for projects that fall outside the foundation arena.

“OFFRR will act as a clearinghouse for faculty projects,” he said. “We now have regular meetings with the major gift officers in University Relations to discuss faculty needs and how they might be prioritized and addressed. We encourage faculty to begin their funding requests with us and let us champion their project.”

As the name suggests, OFFRR serves full-time faculty and administrators with faculty status in the CLA and School of Education. OFFRR will also support the development of joint projects among Willamette’s various schools and colleges that involve in a substantive way faculty members from the CLA or School of Education.

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