Exhibition

Point of View

Past 2023 Exhibition

2nd Floor Landing, Hallie Ford Museum of Art

point of view \ˈpȯint\ ˈəv \ˈvyü\ noun (pl) points of view
1: a particular attitude or way of considering a matter
2: a position from which someone or something is observed

In this exhibition series, we invite members of the Willamette community to share their experience or interpretation of a work of art from the perspective of their area of expertise, study, or research. Each year we offer a new work, and a new "point of view."

_{Henk Pander (American born in the Netherlands, 1937-2023), Very Large Array (Soccoro, New Mexico) 
1978, watercolor, gift of Lillie Lauha, Portland, Oregon, LAU98.001.}

In this Point of View exhibition, Willamette University President Stephen Thorsett explores Henk Pander’s stunning painting of the Very Large Array (VLA) which is located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin. For Thorsett, the painting brings back memories of visiting the VLA in the 1990s when his research as an astrophysicist led him to use the giant telescopes to monitor flashes of radio waves from rapidly spinning stars. His work also coincided with the filming of the movie Contact. In addition, Thorsett discusses the way Pander’s “depiction of this dramatic natural setting brings perspective to one of humanity’s grandest-scale engineering projects.” 

LEARN MORE

• Henk Pander
• The Very Large Array
• Willamette University President Stephen Thorsett
• Ways to watch the movie Contact