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State of the Art exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Joel Allen
Joel Allen

The exhibition State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now opening Sept. 13 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., will feature work by 102 artists from all over the country, including WSU fine arts alum (2001) Joel S. Allen.

The president and curator of Crystal Bridges interviewed Allen earlier this year as part of their search for the most compelling American art being created today.

Five of Allen’s sculptures from his ongoing series Hooked on Svelte will be included in State of the Art. He works with twine, yarn, wine corks, pill bottles, wood, copper, irrigation tubing, acrylic sheeting, paper pulp and rubber to create large-scale hanging fiber sculptures.

Allen works full-time as a practicing artist while also teaching part time at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, and credits much of his success to the extraordinary faculty within the Department of Fine Arts, especially Professor Emeritus Jack Dollhausen.

Learn more about Allen’s work in Washington State Magazine

Campaign 2014 report: A surge in ‘dark money’

Travis Ridout
Travis Ridout

With midterm elections weeks away, outside interest groups are pumping a record amount of anonymous “dark money” into television political ads, according to a WSU researcher who tracks national campaign advertising.

“I suspect the numbers will go up even more during the crucial weeks leading up to Nov. 4,” said WSU political scientist Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which recently released a report showing a surge of political spending, mostly on highly contested U.S. Congressional seats. (See Wesleyan Media Project)

Not only is a lot of money being spent on broadcast ads, but it’s frequently being done in secret, said Ridout. Unlike candidates and political action committees, dark money groups—those able to claim tax status as social welfare organizations—can keep individual contributors anonymous.

Find out more about the nature of dark money:

WSU News

The Columbian Blogs

Sept. 17: Need for land ethic in environmental policy

Walter Echo-Hawk
Walter Echo-Hawk

Native American attorney Walter Echo-Hawk will discuss “The Need for an American Land Ethic” in a free, public presentation about environmental challenges at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at 101 Kimbrough Hall on the WSU Pullman campus.

A tribal judge, author, activist, and law professor, Echo-Hawk will discuss the role of indigenous peoples in helping nations form environmental ethics, and will explore the need for an American land and sea ethic to address the global environmental crisis.

“Long known as a leading advocate for Native American rights, Walter Echo-Hawk is now exploring ways in which the unique perspectives of indigenous communities can be brought bear in solving environmental issues around the globe,” said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, event co-sponsor. “It is both a great honor and a great opportunity to welcome him at WSU where our students, faculty, and community can engage directly with him.”

More about Echo-Hawk’s talk

New materials science director touts interdisciplinary research

Aurora Clark
Aurora Clark

Aurora Clark, associate professor of chemistry, has been named interim director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program (MSEP) at Washington State University.

A highly accomplished researcher, Clark designs novel materials and predicts the results of chemical reactions using powerful computer algorithms and data mining techniques. She has collaborated with MSEP faculty and supervised graduate students in the program throughout her career at WSU.

“I am excited to have this wonderful opportunity to showcase the breadth of research in our program,” Clark said. “We have world class professors tackling fundamental materials science from the atomic and molecular level all the way to device development, manufacturing and commercialization.”

MSEP is a joint initiative between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Architecture. Its faculty’s research interests range from designing advanced nuclear energy technologies to making new materials for implants. The program is the largest interdisciplinary doctoral program in materials science and engineering in the Northwest. Graduates go on to work in academia, Fortune 500 companies and the national laboratories.

Read more

Author to discuss musical life of Indian school

Melissa Parkhurst
Melissa Parkhurst

Melissa Parkhurst, an ethnomusicologist who teaches classes in world and Native American music at Washington State University, will give a free presentation about her new book, “To Win the Indian Heart: Music at Chemawa Indian School,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Nez Perce National Historical Park in Spalding, Idaho.

The book chronicles the musical life of the Salem, Ore., school, the oldest continuously operating federal boarding school for Native American children.

Find out more:

WSU News

Statesman Journal