John Van Dreal: Still Lifes and Figures

A small exhibition of work by Salem painter John Van Dreal will open Jan. 6 and continue through March 4 in the Study Gallery of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

Organized by Director John Olbrantz in collaboration with the artist, John Van Dreal: Still Lifes and Figures will feature 13 works created in 2006 specifically for the exhibition. Van Dreal draws on Old Master techniques to create still lifes, landscapes and figures.

Born in Colorado in 1962 and raised in Southern California, Van Dreal began painting when he was 7 with instruction from his father, an accomplished watercolorist. He received his formal art education at Brigham Young University, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in studio art and a master of education degree in educational psychology. In addition to his art, Van Dreal has worked for the past decade as a school psychologist with the Salem-Keizer School District.

Van Dreal has been featured in dozens of one-person and group exhibitions over the years and his work is a part of numerous public and private collections throughout the region, including the University of Portland, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, the State of Oregon and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, among others. He is a signature member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society.

Van Dreal paints from photographs and sketches, choosing to portray subjects such as still lifes, landscapes, and the human figure that have a rich history in Western art. A great admirer of the Dutch masters of the 17th and 18th centuries, he prefers oil paint because of its richness, luminosity and slow drying time, allowing him to work and re-work a piece until he is completely satisfied with it. Van Dreal has said he wants to create imagery that is evocative, intellectual and spiritual, rooted in the past but with a contemporary edge.

John Van Dreal: Still Lifes and Figures has been supported in part by grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and, starting Jan. 7, Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Mondays. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information call (503) 370-6855.

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University Plans Week of Events to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

While most area colleges and universities have a holiday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Willamette University uses the day to launch a week of discussions and activities surrounding social justice issues and the accomplishments of this revered civil rights leader.

The week starts Jan. 15 with Willamette students, faculty and staff signing the Willamette University Pledge, which encourages people to make a personal commitment to adhere to a common belief that all individuals are valued, including those in the majority and those in the minority.

Most other events during the week are open to the public. They begin with a free showing of the documentary film Rivers of Change: The Story of Five Unheralded Women in Montgomery and Their Struggle for Justice and Dignity. The event is at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 in Hudson Hall. The film is about the untold stories of women who fought discrimination and segregation in the U.S. and how their collective efforts changed a nation and impacted the world (visit www.weshall-overcome.com for more information). The movie’s producer/writer/director, William Dickerson-Waheed, will lead a post-screening discussion about social activism.

Portions of the film also will be shown from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 18 in Cone Chapel, on the second floor of Waller Hall, as part of the University’s weekly convocation series. Waheed also will speak at this event, which is open to the public.

The University’s celebration culminates Jan. 19 with a public event and concert at 7 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Olympia Vernon, Willamette’s Hallie Brown Ford Chair in Creative Writing, will give a community welcome, and Grammy Award-winning South African a capella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform. Tickets for the public are $5 and will be available at the University Center Information Desk beginning at 5 p.m. Jan. 17. There is a limit of four tickets per person. Willamette students and employees can obtain one free ticket beginning Jan. 8. For concert information, call the Office of Multicultural Affairs at (503) 370-6265.

Other campus-only events Jan. 19 include a Southern soul food luncheon at 12:30 p.m. in Cat Cavern, which will feature another showing of segments of Rivers of Change. The Willamette community also will participate in an annual event called Into the Streets, where people act on King’s philosophy of service to the community by doing community service projects at a number of Salem sites, including the HOME Youth & Resource Center, Lifeline AIDS Project, Marion-Polk Food Share, Salvation Army and Willamette Valley Hospice. For more information about Into the Streets, call the Office of Community Service Learning at (503) 370-6807.

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South African a Cappella Group to Perform at Willamette University

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the South African a cappella group featured on Paul Simon’s acclaimed “Graceland” album, will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 in Smith Auditorium at Willamette University. The group will be featured at Willamette’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will give a live performance of its latest album, “Long Walk to Freedom,” a collection of 12 new recordings of the group’s classic songs sung in Zulu and English. The album, released in January 2006, has received two Grammy Award nominations, for Best Contemporary World Music CD and Best Surround Sound Production.

The group, assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala, marries the intricate rhythms and harmonies of South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The new album features guest vocal performances from famous South African artists and from contemporary pop singers, including Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan. For more information, visit www.mambazo.com.

Please note that tickets for this event are no longer available.