THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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Authenticity of Japanese art expressed Lane instructor teaches and displays art simultaneously Brandon Taylor Reporter Lane art instructor Satoko Motouji is displaying a personal piece in her art exhibit “Process, Continued" in Lane's main art gallery. The piece consists of dried white plants hanging over woven material that fades from black to white. The fade represents her mother’s fading memory due to her affliction with Alzheimer’s. Motouji made the majority of the piece with her mother who constructed most of the weave. The exhibit has been four years in the making, starting with the calligraphy as a kind of new year's resolution. She had been meaning to relearn calligraphy for some time and eventually found an instructor in Portland. However, due to Motouji's busy schedule, the instructor was reluctant to teach her. Eventually she was able to convince her instructor and began relearning calligraphy. To keep her in touch with
August Frank / The Torch
traditional Japanese art, Motouji uses a number of Japanese tools. She uses handmade paper, an ink-stone, pine ink and brush signifying the ‘four treasures of the study,’ which is an expression used in Asian calligraphy traditions denoting the use of these particular tools. In keeping with the authentic expression in her work, she buys many of the materials directly from Japan. The exhibit is not just a static piece. Motouji is providing viewers with a real time experience into the process by practicing calligraphy every Monday afternoon in the gallery. Motouji was born in Kyoto, Japan and moved to the United States to study at the University of Oregon in 1985. While working in a high school extension program
Stories of the marginalized Under represented people are the focus of teacher’s work Victoria Stephens Reporter Steve McQuiddy writes about people with eccentric histories who are outside of the mainstream. “Oregon has its share of characters,” he said. “I've always had a connection with people in the margins.” His recent book, titled “Here on the Edge” is an in-depth account of Camp Angel, a conscientious objector camp located on the Oregon coast during World War II. This group, according to McQuiddy, had a profound influence on the development of the peace movement. Their art and philosophy were pivotal in the development of the move-
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in 1986 with Lane Community College, she was hired as a parttime instructor. Since then she has taught a multitude of art classes at Lane, including Introduction to Drawing, Intermediate Drawing and Watercolor. “Teaching is wonderful thing, it’s about witnessing a student's growth,” Motouji said. The exhibit is both an art display and a lesson in art. Motouji hopes to communicate the process of making art in addition to the finished result to viewers of the exhibit, hence the title “Process, Continued.” Process, being a major theme and source of inspiration for Motouji, is greatly illustrated by a series of calligraphy papers transee MOTOUJI, page 6
August Frank / The Torch
Samantha Westrope (top left) takes a moment to admire the art of instructor Satoko Motouji’s sabbatical Exhibition in the LCC main Art Gallery in Building 11 on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
ment that followed in the 1950s. The camp was created as a unique partnership between three peace-promoting churches and the U.S. government. Under this arrangement, objectors provided unpaid labor for public projects, filling a void left by men who were called to war. Prior to that, conscientious objectors were incarcerated. McQuiddy spent the better part of five years researching the project, traveling to several states, visiting archives, going over records and gathering photographs of group members. His efforts paid off — the book was one of the finalists for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and made it to number 13 in its category on Amazon. McQuiddy wanted to create a work that was both scholarly and accessible. He chose to make the research readable by telling the stories of the people involved. One day he hopes the book will be adapted into a movie. “One thing led to another and as the 90s wore on I fell into what I have come to term as ‘the eccentric history beat.’ I've always been interested in marginalized people, people that live outside of the mainstream for whatever reason,” he said. Currently, McQuiddy is honorary director of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for some of his
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feature writing and has studied at several different colleges, including Lane. After moving to the west coast he studied at Oregon State University, finally earning a B.A. in English at the University of Oregon and later completing an M.F.A. in creative writing. As an OSU student he began reading and being inspired by books written by “radical edgy authors." He has written many unpublished novels and has worked in varied jobs to earn money to go to school. While in his 20s, McQuiddy decided that he would like to write a history book someday. Later in the ‘90s, journalism was a way to put food on the table and pay his bills. "I fell into teaching. I’ve always had an interest in history all of my life," he said. McQuiddy taught for a brief time at Linn-Benton College and for a couple of years in Japan. He taught in the School of Journalism at the U of O prior to working at Lane. “I was a student here 30 years ago,” he said. He was taking the more affordable classes here while working on his degree at UO. McQuiddy's writing career began when he wrote a detailed monographic story about Opal Whiteley, a local Cottage Grove naturalist and author with reputed mystisee MCQUIDDY, page 6
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