Oct. 8, 1997 Museum of Art Contact Heather Brown (541) 346-0942 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EUGENE--How nine contemporary photographers--five German and four North American--use water as a thematic symbol in their images is the focus of this fall's exhibition, "Water: The Renewable Metaphor," opening Friday, Oct. 17, at the University of Oregon Museum of Art, 1430 Johnson Lane. Organized in conjunction with an Oct. 16-19 German Studies symposium, "Water: Cultural Representations and Ecological Questions in Germany and the American West," the exhibition examines the complex relationship human beings have with water. The exhibition will continue through Jan. 4, 1998. A free public reception is set from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, at the museum. Curated by Rod Slemmons, a University of Washington photography professor, the exhibition strives to address the context of water. The show looks at water's relationship to human experience and as an element of nature that is both manipulated by and beyond the control of humankind. The individual artists--Dieter Appelt, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Peter Goin, Angela Grauerholz, Gary Hill, Mark Ruwedel, Erasmus Schroter and Bill Viola--cover a broad abstract aesthetic. They examine questions of cultural identity, self-doubt, spiritual survival, humanity's relationship to nature, geology vs. human time, industrialization and the element as beautiful object. The UO Museum of Art, accessible to people with disabilities, is open from noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Suggested admission is $3, except on Wednesdays when the MusEvenings! program offers free extended viewing hours from 5-8 p.m. "Water: The Renewable Metaphor" is organized with the support of the Photography at Oregon Committee and in conjunction with UO Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. This exhibition also is supported by the Tom Autzen Endowment Fund. The University of Oregon Museum of Art exhibition program for 1997-98 is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. For information, call (541) 346-3027. A taped message about current museum exhibitions and events also is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 5665, or by visiting the Museum of Art's Internet web site at <http://uoma.uoregon.edu>. -30- #P-2083/A&E