Nov 17 Tuesday
Jim Hodges’ “Unearthed” exhibition is a monumental bronze cast of an uprooted tree stump. The truncated form resonates with majesty while also serving as a mournful reminder of humankind’s impact upon the natural world. The sculpture is suspended in stillness, suggesting what might have been above, stretching branches that had reached into the air towards the sun that once contained life in green and barky rough wildness. With this implication, and through our interaction with the sculpture, “Unearthed” opens generative thought toward relationships between environments and their communities. The work beckons us to consider fragility, ephemerality, as well as the sacredness of life.
This work-in-becoming had its first residency in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral in 2019. Imagine that in the confines of that edifice the sculpture absorbed metaphysical power from everyday spiritual practice, from a celebration of life observed in rites of faith, musical performances, readings, by a community’s presence, participation, and social interaction. “Unearthed” has its second residency at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Washington State University, providing the academic and regional community an occasion to approach the work through intentional participation.
In time, its roots will be reunited with the ground through burial, transferring its accumulated goodwill charged with incorporeal memories and energies into the Earth. Only its severed trunk will remain visible, indicating a new role in nature.
IMAGE | Jim Hodges, Unearthed, 2015 to present
LOCATION | The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU is located in the Crimson Cube (on Wilson Road across from Martin Stadium and the CUB) on the WSU Pullman campus. Museum hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays, and during University holidays and breaks.
Each year, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art presents selections from its growing permanent collection in an exhibition, offering fresh perspectives through thematic exhibitions, recent acquisitions, and curated installations.
Open August 25, 2026 through March 13, 2027, “JSMA Collects” explores the many ways artists, curators, and visitors connect with nature, place, and one another. Works on view reflect the relationships between environments and communities, while spring installations expand the conversation to themes of home, family, and everyday life, inviting reflection on the natural world and our place within it.
From its founding collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European paintings, the museum's holdings have grown to more than 4,000 works of art. Today, the collection spans the eighteenth century to the present and features a diverse range of regional, national, and international artists whose works illuminate the breadth and evolution of visual culture.
IMAGE | Etsuko Ichikawa, Vitrified, 2020
Nov 18 Wednesday
Description: This talk will focus on strategies for transforming agricultural and forest biomass into value-added fuels, bioproducts, and functional materials while advancing sustainable resource management and environmental protection. By integrating biomass conversion, resource recovery, and sustainability assessment, the talk will highlight opportunities to build more resilient and circular systems across the resource–energy–environment nexus.
BIo: Dr. Ming-Hsun Cheng is currently an Assistant Professor of Energy and Environment. Ming-Hsun joined UI in 2022, starting his position at Idaho Falls campus leveraging the partnership with Idaho National laboratory. He earned his PhD in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Iowa State University in 2017 and was doing research as a postdoc research associate at the Center for Advanced Bioproduct and Bioenergy Innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the University of Idaho. His research group focuses on Integrated Biorefinery Systems for bioproduct innovations.
Free In Person Financial Course! Want to learn more about money? How to make your dollar stretch? How to create a budget? Well this free course is for you! Come join us on Wednesdays at the WECU Education Center on 511 E. Holly Street, Downtown Bellingham, starting February 4th-March 25th from 3:00pm-5:00pm. Scan the QR code or visit www.oppco.org/flare-registration/ to register. Hope to see you there!!!
Nov 19 Thursday