News
Art intersects with angst
AS A STUDENT, Ralph Pugay won a prestigious art award that continues to raise his profile nationwide. His work, which spans sculpture, painting, and performance art, often focuses on the tense intersection of anxiety and catastrophe and combines ideas in paradoxical ways.
Pugay ’07, MFA ’10 says he doesn’t worry about how concretely an audience can parse out his themes as much as he hopes to push viewers’ comfort level.
“For the audience, I hope it becomes more of an experience of looking at something and appreciating it for what it is versus something you have to try to figure out,” he says. “That’s an important exercise, too. It’s important to simply acknowledge alienation in a world so filled with uncertainty.”
His 2010 award from the International Sculpture Center was for a piece that juxtaposes seemingly opposite ideas of physical therapy, reality TV game shows, and an obstacle course. Since graduation, Pugay has been working to connect with galleries and artists outside of Portland. His work has shown in Portland and New York galleries, and his winning sculpture is part of an International Sculpture Center traveling exhibit of student winners’ work around the country.
While he isn’t yet making a living solely on his art, Pugay, a native of the Philippines, is enjoying exploring the world through his work.
“I would not recommend art as a means to make a living,” he says with a laugh. “It’s fun to do. It keeps me off the streets.”
First photo: Beach Fever by alumnus and Portland artist Ralph Pugay.
Second photo: This performance art piece by Ralph Pugay received the International Sculpture Center’s 2010 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.
THE KNOWLEDGE, an award-winning mural created by art professor Harrell Fletcher with assistance from Avalon Kalin, looms large at Southwest Fifth Avenue between Hall and College streets. A poll of faculty, staff, and students determined which PSU Library books were used.
What do you know?
Which London-born Oregon coach led his teams to 13 conference titles, 20 NCAA tournament berths, and 7 NCAA Final Four appearances? (Hint: it’s not a PSU coach.) Which popular Oregon destination was once a social welfare project designed to help the poor become self-sufficient through farming?
Stumped? (See answers below.) The online Oregon Encyclopedia of Culture and History can help. Factoids like this are part of what make living in Oregon so interesting, but like all history, they can be easy to lose amidst the shuffle of papers and daily life.
The encyclopedia was launched three years ago as part of the ramp-up for the state’s 150th birthday. Founded as a partnership linking Portland State, the Oregon Council of Teachers of English, and the Oregon Historical Society, the encyclopedia is a rich and growing trove of state history and culture.
So far, more than 400 authors have written more than 850 online entries, and the site builders are willing to accommodate up to 5,000 entries, says Executive Director Bill Lang, a history professor at PSU. Topics range from art and architecture to literature, performing arts, and music.
“Our ambition is to cover everything about Oregon’s history and culture, so in a sense we have no upper limit for the encyclopedia,” Lang says.
Editors pick entry topics and select authors based on suggestions from a 26-member editorial advisory board and from the general public. With their help, the site continues to grow each week.
As a reliable and easy-to-use source, the encyclopedia is particularly popular with teachers and students, says Lang.
Answers: Clive Charles, beloved head coach at University of Portland; McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale. For more Oregon trivia, check out www.oregonencyclopedia.org.
New Works
Creating Portland State: 1946-1955
Edited by Steve Brannan ’57 (education faculty) and Doug Swanson, Portland State University, 2011
You Don’t Love This Man: A Novel (P.S.)
By Dan DeWeese MA ’03 (English instructor), Harper Perennial, 2011
Remembering the Power of Words: The Life of an Oregon Activist, Legislator, and Community Leader
By Avel Louise Gordly ’74 (black studies adjunct faculty) with Patricia A. Schechter (history faculty), Oregon State University Press, 2011
New Perspectives on Technical Editing
By Avon Murphy ’65, Baywood Publishing, 2010
Treaties and Treachery: The Northwest Indians’ Resistance to Conquest
By Kurt R. Nelson ’77, Caxton Press, 2011
Coffee-Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate
Edited by Scott F. Parker MS ’09 and others, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011
Casting Revealed: A Guide for Film Directors
By Hester Schell ’84, Michael Wiese Productions, 2011
20 Dates in 20 Weekends: A Craigslist Social Experiment
By Sara E. Young ’94, Amazon ebooks (two volumes), 2011
WE WANT TO HEAR about your books and recordings and your future exhibits, performances, and directing ventures. Contact the magazine by emailing psumag@pdx.edu, or mailing Portland State Magazine, Office of University Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751.