Roger Shimomura: Works on Paper

For immediate release: Nov. 5, 2014
Media contact: Andrea Foust
Membership and Public Relations Manager
Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University | 503-370-6867
Public contact: 503-370-6855 | museum-art@willamette.edu

Exhibition introduces Roger Shimomura’s American experience

SALEM, Ore. — "Roger Shimomura: Works on Paper" opens Nov. 8, 2014 and continues through Feb. 1, 2015 in the Study Center and Print Study Center at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Organized by Director John Olbrantz, the exhibition features 26 prints by Seattle native and Lawrence, Kansas-based artist Roger Shimomura who has made prints in a style inspired by his childhood interest in comic books and the traditions of American pop art and Japanese woodcut prints. Born in 1939, Shimomura spent part of his childhood in an internment camp in Idaho during WWII, and his subsequent work as an artist explores the unique position of being seen as an outsider in one's own country.

This exhibition serves as a prelude to "Roger Shimomura: An American Knockoff," a retrospective exhibition organized by the Museum of Art at Washington State University that will be presented at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art Jan. 17 through March 29, 2015. This exhibition is timed to coincide with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at Willamette University where Roger Shimomura will be the featured speaker on Jan. 23, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in Hudson Hall at the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. For ticket information, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 503-370-6265.

Shimomura has been featured in more than 125 solo exhibitions, has been included in twice that many group exhibitions, has lectured at hundreds of universities and art schools, is included in more than 100 public and private collections throughout the United States, and has received numerous awards and honors, including the College Art Association’s Artist Award for the Most Distinguished Body of Work in 2002 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington in 2006; in 2011 he was designated a USA Fellow in the Visual Arts.

Financial support for the exhibition has been provided by grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission, with additional funding provided by the Willamette University Office of Multicultural Affairs.

EXHIBITION RELATED EVENTS

Lecture with Artist Roger Shimomura
An American Diary
Roger Shimomura
Friday, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center, Hudson Hall
This will be a free ticketed event
For more information call 503-370-6265

As our featured speaker for this year's Willamette University Martin Luther King Celebration, Roger Shimomura will explore the theme, "Life interrupted, a look at displaced communities" by sharing his personal life experiences and how they have shaped his 40-year career as an artist. Through his art, Shimomura seeks to address and share a variety of profound life events that range from finding himself, as a third generation American child of Japanese descent, in an interment camp during World War II, to the stereotypes that he has encountered.

Gordy Toyama, the Director of Multicultural Affairs and the chair of the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee, says, "Shimomura's stories and art provide us with a powerful lens through which we can reflect on many of the current day civil rights issues that surround incarceration, detention centers and immigration."

Film
Witness: The Legacy of Heart Mountain
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
| More information |

Performance
Within the Silence
Presented by Living Voices and written by Ken Mochizuki
Thursday, March 5, 2015
| More information |

Film
The Cats of Mirikitani
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
| More information |

Tuesday Gallery Talks
Start Jan. 20, 2014 and continuing through Mar. 24, 2015
Tours commence at 12:30 p.m.
| More information |

###

ADDITIONAL PRESS KIT ITEMS

About the Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Oregon's third largest art museum features works by Pacific Northwest and Native American artists, and includes a diverse collection of traditional European, American and Asian art, as well as artifacts that date from antiquity. Frequently changing exhibitions include lectures, special events, tours, artist demonstrations and educational opportunities for children and adults.

The museum is located at 700 State St. in Salem. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed on Monday. General admission is $6, $4 for seniors and $3 for students 18 and older. Students 17 and under and children are admitted free. Admission is free for everyone on Tuesdays. For more information call 503-370-6855 or visit willamette.edu/go/hfma.