The exhibition is on view through, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
EUGENE, Ore. -- (October 16, 2014) –The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s “Art of the Athlete” exhibition returns for a third year featuring work created by UO student athletes from participating in football, cheerleading, acro/tumbling, women’s soccer, and men’s basketball. The exhibition remains on view through January 25, 2015. The public is invited to a free reception on Wednesday, October 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Artists in the exhibition are Bralon Addison, Football; Jalil Abdul-Bassit, Men’s Basketball; Dwayne Benjamin, Men’s Basketball; Reggie Daniels, Football; Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Football; Kelsey Foo, Women’s Soccer; Jordyn Fox, Acro/Tumbling; Dominque Harrison, Football; Cameron Hunt, Football; Koa Ka’ai, Football; Dior Mathis, Football; Thomas Tyner, Football; Taylor Richmond, Cheerleading; and Tony Washington, Football.
“The JSMA’s education programs not only focus on introducing art to university students, but also on giving them meaningful opportunities to engage in art so they may integrate art into their lives for years to come,” says Lisa Abia-Smith, JSMA director of education. “This exhibition is one such example: it teaches university student athletes how the process of looking at and creating art translates to better observation skills and serves as an outlet for non-verbal creative expression.”
For four weeks over the summer, student athletes learned color theory, unique practices in photo transfer methods, and plaster mold casting. They also studied a range of artists -- from historic Greek and Roman artists, who focused on the athletic body as subject matter, to contemporary artists, such as Kehinde Wiley, whose work addresses power and race.
The “Art of the Athlete” outreach program results in works of art for the public to view and writing samples that document how the project makes meaning for them. The exhibition becomes a forum for the student athletes to express what is sometimes invisible on the field and on the court.
”Art of the Athlete 3” includes Guide by Cell tours with the athletes talking about their work and in-depth artist’s statements from each describing what influenced the creation of their work.
The exhibition is sponsored by AAA Arts and Administration Program and the Cheryl and Allyn Ford Endowment.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, America, Europe and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of six museums in the state of Oregon—and the only university museum--accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
