Campus and community briefs

Visiting artists program opens

Five distinguished artists and one art writer travel to Utah State University this year as part of the art department’s Visiting Artist Program.

The program brings nationally and internationally known artists and writers to campus for three to five-day visits, interacting with students, faculty and members of the community. All guests will present an evening lecture that is free and open to the public.

Opening this year’s program is painter and printmaker Robert Cottingham, who is on campus Sept. 15 to 17. His public lecture is Monday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m in the Eccles Conference Center, room 216. Cottingham will show slides and speak about his artwork. He will also meet with students and interested members of the community in an informal discussion and critique Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Cottingham is sometimes referred to as an American pop-artist and early photo realist. He became established in the 1970s with artists such as Richard Estes and Chuck Close.

“Our program brings artists working in a variety of media and with diverse backgrounds to Utah State,” said Marilyn Krannich, program director. “Now, with both nationally and internationally known artists, we are broadening our students’ view of the art world and creating a larger world context for them and their artwork.”

Other guests in this year’s program include photographer Robert ParkeHarrison in October, art historian Barbara Stafford (from Chicago) in November, printmaker Alfredo Benavidez Bedoya (from Argentina) in early March, sculptor Patrick Dougherty in late March and sculptor Krzysztof Wodicko (date to be arranged). These guests have been selected for their national and international reputations, the ways in which their art reflects a variety of media used and their diverse backgrounds, Krannich said.

The Visiting Artist Program is supported by a grant from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Utah Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Utah Arts Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about the Visiting Artist Program at Utah State, contact program director Marilyn Krannich, 435-797-7373.

USU-produced journal debuts

The debut issue of “Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing” is now available.

The journal is produced by the department of English at Utah State University. The magazine aims to build on the tradition of publishing fine nature writing that was established in the department’s former journal in that field, “Petroglyph.”

“At the same time we will open up our pages to experimental work, work that ranges from urban settings to the cosmological,” said editor Christopher Cokinos, assistant professor of English. “We want to publish essays, fiction and poems – along with artwork – that delves both into natural history and scientific fields not usually associated with nature

writing.”

Cokinos noted that no other journal in the country bills itself as publishing both literary nature writing and science writing – the latter term often suggesting the merely journalistic.

“We also hope to publish work by scientists – personal reflections that could never find a home in a peer-reviewed professional or technical journal,” Cokinos said, noting that the Fall/Winter 2003 issue will have an essay by a biologist who struggled with the limitations of desk work after leaving behind the research that had taken her outdoors.

The current issue includes several short essays by Catherine Reid, author of a book on coyotes forthcoming from Houghton-Mifflin, a poem by Jonathan Holden on the steamier side of 20th century physics and an essay on the effects of drought at home by Australian writer Andrew McKenna. The debut includes a selection of color paintings by the West Coast Post-Surrealists, an obscure but provocative group of artists interested in, as “Isotope” is, the conjunctions of the body, the non-human world, technology and science.

Subscriptions are only $10 a year for two issues. Those interested in subscribing can stop by room 408 of the Ray B. West building on the Utah State campus or e-mail Cokinos at ccokinos@cc.usu.edu. Newsstand distribution and direct-mail campaigns for the journal are planned soon.

USU Extension offers advice on ridding gardens of pesky weeds

Utah State University

Media relations

After months of pulling, spraying, hoeing, swearing at and stomping on weeds, it seems like they should give us a break this time of year, said Jerry Goodspeed, Utah State University Extension horticulturist.

But they don’t. Those nasty weeds just keep on growing. In fact, this time of year, they seem to get even more sassy and aggressive, he said. Weeds seem to pop up overnight, then immediately go to seed.

Weeds are not confined to one area of the landscape this time of the year. They invade the lawn, flower beds and the garden. Weed control for each of these areas may require a slightly different approach, Goodspeed said.

Although weeds in the lawn are not attractive, this is not the best time of year to apply herbicides or other chemicals to them, he said. Many of the current lawn weeds are annuals. If they didn’t visit your yard this spring, crabgrass and spurge will arrive with a vengeance now. They are both annuals, but will die off with the first frost.

“I realize that freezing temperatures may be a month or two away; however, a little patience will pay off in the long run,” Goodspeed said. “For now, weaken the weeds by cutting the grass a little higher than normal. I would suggest leaving it about three inches tall. Taller grass is usually healthier, and it has a chance to compete with and choke out those pesky weeds. Taller grass also provides more shade to weeds, which weakens them.”

Continue to water deeply and infrequently this time of year. Most grass plants have deeper roots than weeds, so deep watering helps crowd the weeds. It also helps grass tolerate hot temperatures better, he said.

Once daytime temperatures drop below 85 degrees, apply a broadleaf herbicide to perennial weeds. These include dandelions, field bindweed (morning glory) and black medic, said Goodspeed.

As far as the garden goes, this time of the year it might be easier to control the vegetables than the weeds. Pull, hoe or shallow till the garden to do whatever it takes to get those weeds out before they go to seed, he said. This may sound like a lot of work, but weeds that go to seed will produce an even worse nightmare next year.

“After pulling the weeds, place something on the ground to discourage them from growing,” Goodspeed said. “This can include a mulch, vegetable pre-emergent, paper or the neighbor’s old carpet. I like to drop compost in the rows of the garden now. It helps control weeds and improves the soil when I till it later in the fall.”

Flower beds can be extra work this time of the year, Goodspeed said. The annual flowers may look a little rough, and the weeds have probably poked their heads above the flowers.

Unfortunately, there is no magic spray that can distinguish between a weed and a flower. Hand pulling is the best, but not the easiest option.

Pre-emergent products can be sprayed over the top of annuals to keep new weeds from growing once they germinate. These can be applied once the bed is cleaned out, but will do nothing to control weeds that are currently growing.

Now is a good time to give annuals a shot of liquid nitrogen to stimulate their growth, Goodspeed said. This will perk them up and improve their looks. It will also encourage them to grow more so they can out-compete any smaller weeds trying to emerge through the canopy of flowers.