Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art


These are some huge plants in the inner courtyard of the museum that overlook a small pool. I don't know what they are.

I went to this museum on the University of Oregon campus primarily to see the collection of works by Morris Graves . They had about four of his works in a special room. Unfortunately, there were no prints or posters of them in the museum gift shop, and practically nothing in the gift shop was based upon the museum collections, except for some magnets. Perhaps because the Jordan Schnitzer Museum is small, it cannot afford to make reproductions.

It is difficult to find reproductions of Morris Graves' work. It seems that much of his work is in private hands, and many of the works in major museums are not sold as prints or posters in their shops, either. Maybe some are available when one visits in person, but not listed in the online shopping. Maybe there are not enough people who want them to make it profitable.

Has anyone been to the actual Morris Graves Museum of Art in California (Humboldt County)?

I'm especially attracted to his series of birds (Waking, Walking, Singing in the Next Dimension), and those featuring "white noise."

The other museum collections (Asian) that featured samurai outfits, intricate Chinese enameled hairpieces, and and hand-painted screens were magnificent. I reveled in seeing the embroidered clothing (silk thread in satin stitch) so closely that I could see the actual stitches.

No comments: