THE UNIVERSITY DARRY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006
NEWS
5A
FIELDS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Wilkins said that the economic downturn following Sept. 11 contributed to a drop in art sales and that the art marketplace was altered by the Internet because artists were starting their own Web sites. The summer construction on Massachusetts Street was the last straw, she said, but more than that, Kern wanted to devote time to his own art at this point in his life.
Kern was unavailable for comment.
Lawrence resident Sven Alstrom, who graduated from the University in 1975, frequented Strawberry Fields. He said it was a popular place among many college students, especially his group of friends.
"Strawberry Fields was emblematic of counterculture," he said. "Strawberry Fields meant that there was another world out there besides KU and suburbia."
"The store was a physical embodiment of what was going on at the time, when Crosby, Stills and Nash ruled. It was a slice of life," he said.
Alstrom described the experience
of shopping at Strawberry Fields as an adventure. He described it as an "atmospheric place," referencing the incense that caught customers' attention as they walked through the door.
We went there because it was alternative," he said "It has to do with what makes Lawrence great. Lawrence has more tolerance for novelty and diversity than the rest of Kansas. Strawberry Fields' early success was recognized of that."
Lawrence artist Tim Forcade also remembers the opening of Strawberry Fields. He helped Kern move into the space and lived in one of the lofts located above the store.
"It was my living room," he said of Kern's store. "He had a barber chair I occupied on a regular basis."
Forcade began showing some of his photographs at Fields about a year ago after Kern asked him to.
Forcade said Kern's latest move — making Fields exclusively a gallery — was a courageous move in Lawrence to give up profit in hopes that the community would support it.
"They dedicated themselves to the notion of pure art," he said of Kern and Wilkins. "This community clearly wasn't interested."
Forcade and his colleague, Deb Stavin, another Lawrence photographer, are showing some of their work at the restaurant Pachamamas, 800 New Hampshire St., a showcase that Wilkins and Kern helped to organize before Fields closed.
Slavin said the closing of Fields was a loss for the city because it helped make Lawrence a well-rounded community and helped define it. Fields set a standard of showing art in Lawrence, she said.
Forcade said Lawrence was losing a place that everyone in Lawrence had shopping at some point.
it was an institution," he said. "it's really sad they're gone."
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be contacted at jweinstein@ kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland
STATE OF KANSAS
Sebelius emphasizes energy
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will focus on energy during her second term and named Mark Parkinson, lieutenant governor-elect, the co-chairman of the Kansas Energy Council to lead the way.
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
Sebellius said she wanted to promote renewable energy production and energy conservation.
"Kansas has outstanding potential to produce renewable energy, both from wind farms and from biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. But the progress we've seen these past few years is only the beginning." Sebelius said in a press release.
Sebelius established the council in June 2004. KEC is responsible for the state's energy plan and makes recommendations for long-term policies to the governor, lieutenant governor, legislature and Kansas Corporation Commission.
Sebelius asked the KEC to make
biofuel production a top priority as it seeks to promote energy production and conservation in Kansas.
On Oct. 26, Sebelius asked Ken Frahm, KEC co-chairman, to form another standing committee that would promote biofuel production. He named Rep. Carl Holmes (R-Liberal) as the new committee's chairman. Six legislators will serve on the new committee.
Frahm said Kansas' abundance of agriculture production such as grain, grain residue and animal waste helped generate biofuels.
"It gives us a competitive advantage over other places," he said. "We hope to learn more about it and to land that business."
But some experts aren't so sure.
But some experts are also Scott White, Kansas Geological Survey scientist, used to work on the KEC. White said he quit working for the KEC last December after the council decided to employ outside experts to conduct studies rather
than pay their original in-house staff. He said there was a place for biofuels, but his concern was that the state's aquifers were being depleted because energy plants required irrigated crops. He also said he couldn't imagine there was enough grain to feed the 110-million-gallon plants proposed for Dodge City.
According to the Kansas Energy Information Network, in Kansas there are seven existing ethanol plants, four are under construction and 16 are proposed for construction.
— Edited by Aly Barlan
Kansan staff writer Erin Castaneda can be contacted at ecastaneda@ kansan.com.
White said that the legislators might have an agenda as they looked out for their own districts, specifically in terms of jobs provided by the plants, but that the outcome depended on who served on the committee.
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