Seattle environmental artist Vaughn Bell to speak at WWU May 12

Vaughn Bell, a Seattle artist with a playful approach to serious environmental issues, will speak about her work in a public lecture from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12, in SMATE Room 150 on the Western Washington University campus.

Bell’s lecture is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the WWU Department of Art and the Western Gallery, where Bell’s installation, “Village Green,” is featured in the current exhibition “Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment” through May 29. The exhibition includes the work of 26 artists who are concerned with environmental issues, especially as they affect the Northwest.

Originally commissioned by the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, “Village Green” invites the viewer to insert their head inside “personal biospheres” where they are immersed into the smells of an indigenous Northwest landscape.

“Many people long for the smells of nature and softness of greenery while living amidst concrete and diesel fumes,” said Bell; her “Village Green” is a humorous commentary on the human control and containment of nature.

“Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment” will run through Saturday, May 29. Western Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Wednesdays when the gallery is open until 8 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission to the gallery is free.

For more exhibition details please visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/ or call (360) 650-3900.