Portland State Magazine Winter 2009

Artists share a way of life FOR ARTISTS speaking at the free, highly acclaimed MFA Monday Night Lecture Series, their work isn't just something to hang on a wall- it's a way of life. Artist, curator, and editor Julie Ault is founder of a New York-based artists' collaborative that explores the political and public possibilities of art. Fashion and installation artist J. Morgan Puett joined forces with other artists to transform a crumbling Pennsylvania farm into a historical museum that hosts art installations. Ault and Puett are just two of the nine artists chosen by Portland State Master of Fine Arts students to speak about their work during winter term on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in Shattuck Hall, southwest Broadway and Hall. Ault speaks Feb. 9 and Puett on March 9. Other artists scheduled include Edgar Arceneaux, Feb. 2; Mark Beasley, Feb. 16; Althea Thauberger, Feb. 23; and Modou Dieng, March 2. The lecture series is the brainchild of Harrell Fletcher, professor of art and an internationally recognized artist. For more information, visit www.pdx. edulartllectures. html. One woman's struggle WITH GRIT AND BY GRACE: BREAKING TRAILS IN POLITICS AND LAW, A MEMOIR by Betty Roberts '58 with Gail Wells, Oregon State University Press, 2008 Born in Depression-era Texas to a father crippled by bootleg whiskey and a mother who took in laundry to make ends meet, it is a wonder that Betty Roberts became a teacher, lawyer, state legislator, candidate fo r governor, and Oregon's first woman Supreme Court Justice. In her memoir, With Grit and By Grace, Roberts holds nothing back as she recounts her deeply personal story, which also reflects the struggles and ste– reotypes women have historically faced. She returned to college as a 32-year– old wife and mother despite being cold that she should be happy being a housewife. She went on to earn a law degree from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. During her 13 years as a legislator, Roberts was instrumental in the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, the Oregon Borde Bill, and laws decrimi– nalizing abortion and banning workplace discrimination. In 1982, she was appointed the first woman judge in the 124-year history of the Oregon Supreme Court and came to enjoy "professional collegial ity" with her male fellow justices. Roberts, now 85, made international headlines in 2004, when she performed Oregon's first same-sex marriage ceremonies. ■ FANFARE WINTER 2009 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 7