Slate asks: What if UW President Tom Buchanan had given a speech defending "Carbon Sink?"

From an Oct. 31 article by Michelle Nijhuis on Slate Online about the "Carbon Sink" brouhaha at the University of Wyoming (the controversy that wouldn't die):

The University of Wyoming, like most public universities, has a mission statement that calls for academic freedom and free expression. University donors are supposed to further that mission, not try to restrict it, and university leaders are supposed to defend it.

What if President Buchanan had given a speech...? He could have acknowledged the reaction to Carbon Sink (taking care to first learn its name), and acknowledged the economic and political power of the coal industry in Wyoming. He could have acknowledged the science -- some conducted at his own university -- that demonstrates the connections between coal power and climate change, and climate change and forest decline. And he could have said that while coal is useful and important, it’s equally important to not only acknowledge its costs but also work to reduce them. He could have pointed to existing university programs aimed at doing just that, and called on the legislature -- and the industry -- to fund more.

It wouldn’t have ended the controversy. But it might have opened the conversation.

Nijhuis also explored another controversy over public art, this one at the University of Indiana at Bloomington. A student group demanded the removal of a Thomas Hart Benton mural that shows KKK members in robes. The KKK almost took over the state of Indiana. Benton was just trying to show his state's history, major warts and all. This controversy ended when the UI President made a speech, refusing to remove the mural, calling on UI students and faculty to use it as a teaching moment. Which they did.

Imagine that?

Artists, musicians and writers illuminate Occupy Movement

Artwork by Cristy C. Road

Great article, "Occupy Your Imagination," by Michele Elam and Jennifer DeVere Brody in the 12/5 issue of Boston Review. All about the importance of the expressive arts to the Occupy Movement:

The [Occupy] movement’s new wave of organic creative expression revives the idea of art as necessity for an engaged citizenry. This is not self-referential art for art’s sake—art that pleases only the artist. Rather, this is timely art—art of and for the times—that is self-consciously responsive to immediate social concerns. Occupy has re-established art as a unique vehicle for social analysis and collective action.

Read entire article at http://www.bostonreview.net/BR36.6/michele_elam_jennifer_devere_brody_occupy_movement_future.php

"The Black Hills Are Not For Sale" mural goes up in L.A.

From Native American Netroots: On Saturday, Nov. 26, beginning at 1 p.m., there is an important event will take place at the intersection of Melrose and Fairfax in West Los Angeles. Harper's Magazine Contributing Editor and National Geographic photographer Aaron Huey, and prolific street artist of the Obama HOPE campaign image, Shepard Fairey, have collaborated and will produce a 20x80-foot mural THE BLACK HILLS ARE NOT FOR SALE installation before your eyes. It goes up during Native American Heritage Month. In case you didn't know: Part of the Black Hills are in Wyoming. That section has already been sold. (Artist's rendering above from nativeamericannetroots)

Karen Cotton's New York City photos on display at Clay Paper Scissors Gallery starting Sept. 8

I've known the multitalented Karen Cotton for ten years. She's not only a fine musician and writer, but this Green River native has a warm spot in her heart for New York City. 

In honor of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio will present “New York City: Rising from the Ashes.” This exhibit features photographs by Karen Cotton taken four years after the attack on New York City’s Twin Towers. The mix of images combines the vibrant resiliency of New York with haunting images of ground zero, and memorials.

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Opening reception is Thursday, Sept. 8, 5-8 p.m./, as part of the Art Design and Dine art walk. A second reception will be held during the next AD&D night on Oct. 13. The exhibit continues through Oct. 23.

The gallery is located at 1506 Thomes Ave., Suite B. It's in a renovated historic warehouse off of 15yth Street across from the railyards. Open every Saturday from 1-5 p.m. or by appointment. Call 307-631-6039. 

Speaking of historic placemaking -- or lack of it

Maine artist Judy Taylor created the labor history mural that Gov. Paul LePage wants to remove the the state labor department building:

In the summer of 2007, I responded to a Call to Artists sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission. The call was to create an artwork depicting the " History of Labor in the State of Maine". After a reviewing process, I was selected to do the commission. Along the way, I met some wonderful, and dedicated people. I also got an excellent education in Maine History. Below, is the 11-panel mural that was painted on 4 x 8 sheets of specially prepared MDO board. The panels were applied to adjoining walls in the Dept. of Labor reception area. In total, the mural measures 36 feet in length, and is nearly 8 feet tall.

As a public service to artists everywhere, here are the mural panels. Find the descriptions at Judy's web site.

UPDATE: ThinkProgress reports that the Governor decided to remove the mural after receiving one anonymous. Later he admitted that it was an anonymous letter and not a fax. One anonymous fax/letter undoes years of hard work and erases a landmark? And why is the governor lying about it?