The University, in conjunction with the Eugene Opera,@@http://www.eugeneopera.com/@@ exhibited photographs and video footage titled “Nixon in China, Scenes from History and Stage” which begins Sunday at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
The exhibition and reception that followed was the first of many events that will occur over the next several weeks highlighting the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon visiting China.
These events range from lectures discussing the historical relevance of the trip to “Ping Pong Diplomacy Tournament” put on by the Competition Not Conflict Club.
University history professor Bryna Goodman@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Bryna+Goodman@@ spoke about the historical importance of not only the photographs but of Nixon’s trip as a whole.
“The whole thing was huge news because Nixon was very right-wing, anti-communist, and there he was visiting communist China in the middle of the Cultural Revolution,” Goodman said. “He also made it a media event. He took a huge retinue of photographers so these pictures were everywhere.”
Viewers of the exhibit walked around the viewing room and were able to see the images and faces that went along with Nixon’s five-day trip to China.@@http://www.echoworld.com/B11/B1101/b1101_coc2.html@@
University graduate research fellow Jonathan Lederman@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Jonathan+Lederman@@ had a role in printing and arranging the photos for the exhibit and discussed what the aim of the exhibition was.
“We want people to understand with a degree of historical accuracy Nixon’s 1972 trip to China and the diplomatic results that came from it,” Lederman said.
Mark Beudert, the general director of the Eugene Opera@@http://www.eugeneopera.com/about.html@@, addressed the crowd during the reception and praised the work of all involved.
“This is what art is all about,” Beudert said. “Bringing people and the creative impulses of people together in a community and having it flower.”