This special exhibition presents a spectrum of the Oregon-born Hall’s twenty-five year career as a printmaker. It is the first solo exhibition of Hall’s work since her death in 1957, the first time that more than sixty of her prints have been gathered for exhibition, and likely the first time prints by her have been exhibited in Oregon since a 1930 group retrospective at the Portland Art Association. Hall, who was born in Halsey, Oregon, in 1888, was a watercolorist and oil painter, but her greatest love was color printmaking. After studying at the Portland Art Association School and graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago, she spent two years in Europe, where she learned the skills of block printmaking. She returned to live in Kansas, where she was a member of the Prairie Print Makers, and later New Mexico, where she became part of the pioneer movement in the development of serigraphy. Hall was educated in early twentieth century America, when the Arts and Crafts movement was all the rage. This training is revealed not only in the carving of a cherry woodblock as a form of craft, but in the Japanese-influenced style and interpretation of her subjects. As was typical of an Arts and Crafts artist, Hall found inspiration in the diverse landscapes that she encountered in her extensive travels. She loved figural representation, particularly of foreign subjects, and she always explored the possibilities of color.

Exhibited for the first time will be a cherry woodblock and a portfolio of colorblock prints depicting the Oregon coast, jointly made by Hall and her husband, artist Arthur William Hall (American, 1889-1981), on the occasion of their marriage in 1922. Guest curator Dr. Joby Patterson, a collector, researcher, and teacher, has been involved with fine prints for more than thirty years. After research in black and white intaglio prints for Bertha E. Jaques and the Chicago Society of Etchers (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002), Dr. Patterson’s new interests turned to color. Her upcoming book, Norma Bassett Hall: Catalogue Raisonné of Block Prints and Serigraphs (Pomegranate Communications, available August 2014), traces the adventurous and creative life of Hall and her spouse.

Geraldine Ondrizek, an artist and professor at Reed College, creates installations that explore personal and political issues related to genetics, ethnic identity, and disease. For the JSMA, the artist will create a site-specific installation of light boxes and hand-dyed silk panels that represent the "Gates Skin Color Charts,” a tool used by eugenicists in the mid-20th century to chart race by color gradation, from “African” to “Caucasian.” The installation is based on the research of medical scholar Alexandra Minna Stern of the University of Michigan, who investigates the history of eugenics and its attendant genetic and racial discrimination as practiced in Oregon, and the United States more broadly, from 1900 to1987.

Healing Arts: Highlights from the Museum’s Arts and Healthcare Outreach Program showcases artwork from Holly Residential and Oregon Supported Living Program. For the past year, the JSMA has provided art activities at Holly Residential, a care center in North Eugene that specializes in the care of adults with traumatic brain injuries. JSMA museum educators, practicum students, interns, and volunteers lead twice weekly art activities at the center, and the residents visit the museum for guided tours. In March, we began an outreach program with the OSLP Arts & Culture Program for adults with developmental disabilities. Jamie Walsh, OSLP Arts and Culture Program Coordinator, says that their goal is to offer “a dignified and accepting platform for the artistic voices of emerging artists who may otherwise be overlooked as professionals in their field because of disabilities or other disadvantages.” A biweekly arts program at the JSMA combines gallery tours and art workshops, which tie in the content of the museum tours with art production so that the participants will learn more about the connections between the process of creating art and the finished product.