Eugene, Oregon (June 6, 2018) – The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) and University of Oregon (UO) Libraries are pleased to announce the appointment of Jenny Kreiger as the new Mellon Postdoctoral Scholar, the first joint position of the JSMA and UO Libraries. Kreiger’s position is funded by a grant awarded to the University of Oregon by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
An interdisciplinary scholar with strong interest in digital research methods, Dr. Kreiger brings to the position significant experience working in museums and libraries. Previously, she served as a graduate intern at the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles, where she developed grants for digital art history and global art history, and provided research support for art and architectural conservation initiatives. As a graduate student, Kreiger contributed research, writing, and design to exhibitions at the Walters Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. At the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago), she participated in the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project. For two years, she was library manager for a museum research collection at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. She has provided in-gallery instruction and co-authored an article in “A Handbook for Academic Museums: Exhibits and Education” (2012).
Jenny earned her Ph.D. in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan, her Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from UM, and her BA in Classical Studies, summa cum laude, from Randolph-Macon Woman's College.
The Mellon Faculty Fellowships are part of an initiative funded by a $300,000 grant award from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support enhanced collaboration among campus libraries and museums, and to encourage increased use of library/museum assets in research, teaching and learning. The award, which leverages an additional $150,000 from the University, launches a new program led by the UO Libraries and the JSMA.
The principal investigators for the Mellon Foundation initiative, Adriene Lim, dean of libraries and Philip H. Knight Chair, and Jill Hartz, executive director of the JSMA, are also pleased to announce the 2018-2019 appointments of three Mellon Faculty Fellows for Museum-Library Collaboration:
- Ina Asim, Associate Professor, History
Project: The Artful Fabric of Collecting: Silk Textiles in Gertrude Bass Warner’s Chinese Art Collection and Their Historical Context
Description: Gertrude Bass Warner gave the museum her fine collection of mostly Asian art and served as the University of Oregon art museum’s first director; her extensive archives are primarily located in Special Collections. Using digital technology, this project will contribute to making the significant and unique Warner collection of Chinese textiles and related archival materials accessible to a wide audience for research, teaching and general appreciation.
- David A. Frank, Professor, Robert D. Clark Honors College
Project: Reconsidering James Blue’s 1963 documentary The March: The Cold War, Civil Rights, and the Problem of American Apartheid
Description: James Blue, an alumnus of the UO, is recognized as one of the finest documentary filmmakers of his time, but few know his work as most of his films were made for the United States Information Agency (USIA) and only permitted to be shown outside the U.S. His 1963 documentary The March, which features Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, has only recently been shown in this country. Blue’s films and archives are now at the university, and Frank proposes to conduct research and develop courses and exhibitions using The March to examine American history, racism and antiracism.
- Glynne Walley, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Literatures
Project Japanese Votive Slips: Play and Plays
Description: The Libraries and the JSMA together house the world’s largest collection of Japanese votive slips (nōsatsu or senjafud) outside Japan. These woodblock prints were originally made to be pasted onto temple and shrine buildings by pilgrims. Over time, the pictorial designs became more elaborate, and the slips became prized art objects, resulting in a lively collecting and trading operation in the late nineteenth century. Research and digitization of the collection aim to create a set of descriptions and annotations that can be uploaded as metadata to existing databases of digitized votive slips and enhance pedagogy.
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About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The only academic art museum in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) features engaging exhibitions, significant collections of historic and contemporary art, and exciting educational programs. Its mission is to enhance the academic mission of the University of Oregon and further the appreciation and the enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA’s collections galleries present selections from its extensive holdings of American, Asian, European, and Latin American art. The JSMA continues a long tradition of bridging international cultures and offers a welcoming destination for discovery and education centered on artistic expression that deepens the appreciation and understanding of the human condition.
About the University of Oregon Libraries
The University of Oregon Libraries is an essential partner in the university’s educational, research, and public service mission. With five locations on the Eugene campus, and branches at UO Portland and at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, the Libraries offers services, programs, collections, and many flexible and well-equipped environments for library users’ research and learning needs. Its mission is to actively support the student learning experience, enable the creation and stewardship of knowledge, and contribute to advancements in teaching, research, scholarship, and public service. The University of Oregon Libraries is the only Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member in Oregon.
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Founded in 1969, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation endeavors to strengthen, promote, and, where necessary, defend the contributions of the humanities and the arts to human flourishing and to the well-being of diverse and democratic societies by supporting exemplary institutions of higher education and culture as they renew and provide access to an invaluable heritage of ambitious, path-breaking work. Additional information is available at mellon.org.
Contacts:
Adriene Lim, dean of libraries and Philip H. Knight Chair, alim@uoregon.edu
Jill Hartz, executive director, JSMA, hartz@uoregon.edu
Debbie Williamson-Smith, communications manager, JSMA, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Jason Stone, UO Libraries communications, jastone@uoregon.edu
