PNCA Welcomes Alan M. Kapuler Ph.D. to Deliver 2010 Alfred Edelman Lecture
February 16, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2010
CONTACT:
Leslie Miller, External Relations Specialist
Pacific Northwest College of Art
lmiller@pnca.edu, 503.821.8959
Becca Biggs, Director of Communications
Pacific Northwest College of Art
bbiggs@pnca.edu, 503.821.8892
PNCA Welcomes Alan M. Kapuler Ph.D. to Deliver 2010 Alfred Edelman Lecture
Founding Father of the Organic Seed Movement
Alfred Edelman Lecture: Alan M. Kapuler Ph.D.
“Ecosanity, Ongoing Discoveries About Life”
Tuesday, March 2, 6:30 pm
PNCA Main Campus Building, Swigert Commons
1241 NW Johnson Street
Free and open to the public
PORTLAND, OR – February 16, 2010 – Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is proud to present molecular biologist and public domain plant breeder Alan M. Kapuler Ph.D., to deliver the 2010 Edelman Lecture on Tuesday, March 2, 6:30 pm. Kapuler is the President of Peace Seeds and the Co-Founder and retired Research Director of Seeds of Change, one of the world’s leading providers of organic seeds.
Kapuler is widely considered the founding father of the organic seed movement. He has been saving seeds and breeding plants for over 30 years from his farm in Corvallis, Oregon. His philosophy remains at the heart of the current discussion on where our food comes from and how it is produced. Peace Seeds promotes public domain plant breeding in an effort to protect plant diversity. Kapuler describes the Peace Seeds catalog as a “manual for conserving the plant gene-pool of planet Earth.” Visit Peace Seeds http://peaceseedslive.blogspot.com/.
In speaking of the goals of the annual lectureship in memory of her father, Jeana Edelman says, “Science, nature, craft and design were the overarching principles that my father imbued in his teachings. Ideas, interactions, diverse points of view, all interesting–some provocative, some catalytic–all contribute to an active intellectual life.”
In addition to Kapuler’s accomplishments in the work of “de-hybridizing hybrids” and disseminating a diverse collection of heirloom varieties, he holds a doctorate in molecular biology from Rockefeller University where he worked with nucleic acids authority A.M. Michelson and apprenticed at the lab of future Nobel Prize winner Howard Temin.
“Heritage seeds are essential to our heart chakra. They are important not just because they produce a high quality crop or grow fast, but because they carry the message of the people. They are important for the same reason life is important,” says Kapuler.
Motivated by the social revolution of the late 1960s and discouraged by the work of his peers who were then developing lethal viruses to be used by the government, Kapuler left his promising career on the East Coast to relocate to Oregon in his green van with little more than $1000. It was the simple farm life that Kapuler found in Corvallis that led him to utilize his skills and knowledge of genetics in the garden. This connection with the earth is what keeps Kapuler dedicated to the preservation of traditional crops.
About The Alfred Edelman Lecture
When the late Portland architect and photographer, Alfred Edelman, taught three-dimensional design at PNCA he challenged his students to consider the principles of engineering, kinetics, physics and other subjects seemingly dissimilar to art. In doing so he brought the outside world into his classroom. Founded by Carol Edelman, the Alfred Edelman Lecture was created to enhance the student’s understanding of the visual world by presenting timeless and/or unique ways to examine and manipulate three-dimensional space; and to be a catalyst for lively discussions in the classroom at PNCA.
About Pacific Northwest College of Art
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programs that connect students to a global perspective in the visual arts and design. In addition to its eight Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies, as well as an MFA in Applied Craft and Design developed in collaboration with the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
PNCA is actively involved in Portland’s cultural life through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and internationally recognized visiting artists, designers and creative thinkers. With the support of PNCA+FIVE (Ford Institute for Visual Education), the College has a partnership with the nationally acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Craft. For more information, visit www.pnca.edu.