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Museum looks back in time through ancient images exhibit
Retrospective exhibit brings back Allen Cox's watercolors of Columbia River petroglyphs.
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| "Rock Art -- Ancient Images, New Views, a 20th Anniversary Retrospective of Works on Paper by Allen Cox," will be open Friday at the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave. |
EUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 30, 2007) -- The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History will mark the 20th anniversary of its building with a retrospective exhibit on Friday, Nov. 2.
"Rock Art -- Ancient Images, New Views, a 20th Anniversary Retrospective of Works on Paper by Allen Cox," will be open Friday at the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave.
In 1987, the Museum of Natural and Cultural History opened the doors of its new home in a building that is reminiscent of a traditional Pacific Northwest longhouse. The first exhibit featured Cox's large-format airbrushed watercolors of pictographs and petroglyphs from the Columbia River area. For the 2007 exhibit, the museum has borrowed 15 paintings that were sold at the first show. The featured piece, "She Who Watches," was purchased by the Eugene Water and Electric Board.
"I am thrilled that these images can be seen again. These are things that you can't find on your own," said Cox.
Cox first learned of the rock art while doing library research for his master's degree at the University of Oregon. The small field drawings in an anthology inspired Cox, who expanded the drawings to their original sizes. The line drawings were made in the 1960s, when these images were still visible. Since then, hydroelectric dams built along the Columbia River have raised the water level, covering many of these ancient images.
Allen Cox is an abstract painter who now resides in Knoxville, Tenn. He has exhibited internationally since 1982. He holds a master of fine arts in painting from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Cox worked as an archaeologist from 1977 to 1987. His passion for archaeology continues to influence his art, forming the basis of his current abstract work.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults; $2 for seniors and youths ages 17 and under; and $8 for families (two adults and up to four youths) and free to the public on Wednesdays. Museum members and university faculty and staff members and students are admitted free. For more information, call the museum, 541-346-3024.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Judi Pruitt, 541-346-1671, judip@uoregon.edu
Link: Museum of Natural and Cultural History, http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/
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