Oct. 8, 1997 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EDITORS NOTE: To arrange interviews with Peter Goin and to photograph his images at the UO Museum of Art exhibit, contact Susan Anderson, (541) 346-4056. EUGENE--German and American scholars will explore humankind's view of water both as a powerful symbol and a life-giving substance Oct. 16-19 during a free public conference, "Water: Cultural Representations and Ecological Questions," at the University of Oregon. The four-day conference opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, with a keynote speech by Nevada photographer Peter Goin in Room 180 of Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, 1415 Kincaid St. Goin is a professor of art at the University of Nevada at Reno. Joachim Wolschke-Bulman, University of Hanover professor of landscape architecture, will deliver the second keynote speech, "The Ideological, Aesthetic and Ecological Significance of Water in 20th-Century Garden Design," at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, in the Alumni Lounge at Gerlinger Hall, 1468 University St. All other conference events also are located in the Alumni Lounge of Gerlinger Hall. From 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, a free public reception will mark the opening of an associated photography exhibit, "Water: The Renewable Metaphor," at the UO Museum of Art, 1430 Johnson Lane. The show, on view through Jan. 4, 1998, will display the work of nine German and North American photographers, including Goin, whose images depict water as a metaphor in distinctive ways. Many of the conference events will focus on water and the environment. Panel discussions will include water mythology and imagery, rivers and agriculture, bathing, sprites, and water in the American West. "We chose water as the theme of this conference because we wanted to explore its use as a metaphor in both Germany and the United States and, at the same time, look at the environmental consequences of its misuse," says Susan Anderson, German Studies Committee chair. The German Academic Exchange Service is supporting the symposium through an $8,000 grant. The UO College of Arts and Sciences, the Oregon Humanities Center, the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the UO Office of International Affairs are sponsors of the symposium. For more information or to register for the conference, contact the UO Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, (541) 346-4051. -30- #P-6009/Local,A&E