EUGENE, OR - Florence resident Mary Johnston and 17 others from Florence visited the Lane Community College Eugene campus on Jan. 23 to attend an art lecture and reception for the Yoruba African Art Exhibition, on loan to the college from Johnston's private collection.
Besides Johnston, Florence attendees included LCC Florence Dean Mary Jeanne Kuhar and LCC Board of Education member Sharon Stiles. More than 60 people attended the lecture and reception.
The exhibit features ritual pieces used by the Yoruba people of West Africa. Johnston inherited the pieces from her brother who acquired them in while in Berlin.
Johnston said she wanted to share the collection to promote cross-cultural understanding and to help people learn how other cultures solve their problems. "I decided that whatever I do with this collection, it must be about getting together with different-minded people and opening doors of understanding." Johnston has long been interested in anthropology and archeology, having returned to college as an adult and earning a degree in anthropology and psychology. She's also volunteered on archeological digs on the Oregon coast.
Johnston said the Yoruba use colorful, lavish rituals to promote well being and the healing of misfortunes. The pieces in the collection are from the Gelede which honors women; the Egungun which honors ancestors; to dedicate the loss of a twin at birth to the deity Ibeji; to praise Shango, the god of thunder and lightening; and other ceremonies.
Dr. Candice Goucher of Washington State University lectured on the history and cultural-religious significance of certain items in the show. Goucher has conducted research in West Africa, the Caribbean, Mauritius, and the Northwest and has a master's degree in art history and archaeology from Columbia University and a doctorate in African History from UCLA.
The exhibition runs through February 2 and is open to the public. It is located in the art gallery in building 11 on main campus, 4000 E. 30th Avenue, Eugene. The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays. Admission is free. For more information contact the Art and Applied Design Department at (541) 463-5409.
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Media contacts:
Joan Aschim, PIO, aschimj@lanecc.edu or (541) 463-5591
Mary Jeanne Kuhar, Dean, LCC at Florence (541) 463-4805