Art is not something one can easily escape in this city.
There are statues on the grass, mosaics on the sidewalks, murals on the buildings and an art gallery around every corner.
Eugene is truly an art-driven town, so it’s not hard to understand why the Eugene 08 Festival chose “Sport Meets Art” as today’s theme.
“Eugene’s motto is ‘World’s Greatest City of the Arts and Outdoors,’ so it seemed like a natural fit for Eugene 08,” Rita Radostitz, the Festival’s media relations liaison, said.
Jan Bohman, community relations director for the city of Eugene, said the motto is something that’s been around for a while.
“I think the genesis of it is people recognizing we have a really wonderful synergy of things,” she said.
“There’s not a lot of places you can go to a track meet or go fishing during the day and then go somewhere as fabulous as the Hult Center at night. We just have a really rich atmosphere.”
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s assistant director of education, Ann Craig, said there is definitely some truth to Eugene’s famous slogan.
“I think there’s an incredibly wonderful community of artists, not just downtown or on campus but all over Lane County,” she said.
“People will go to a First Friday ArtWalk, and then go hiking the next day. We have the natural surroundings that inspire that kind of creativity.”
Craig added that if it’s raining for seven months out of the year, you have to find something that will keep you occupied indoors, and art is the perfect something.
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History, located at 1680 E. 15th Ave., is hosting perhaps the most interesting exhibit related to track and field in town.
“Walk a Mile in These Shoes” gives visitors a chance to see shoes worn by native groups, Steve Prefontaine and even the members of KISS.
The cornerstone of the exhibit is the oldest pair of shoes in the world: 10,000-year-old sage brush sandals.
Craig said the goal of “Walk a Mile in These Shoes” is to encourage people to consider what we can learn about culture by looking at footwear.
In honor of contributions from Track Town legends like Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, the museum put Prefontaine’s running shoes on display, along with his letterman’s jacket and other memorabilia.
“It’s really neat because you can see running times on his shoes written in black marker,” Craig said.
There are shoes from other famous runners like Mary Decker-Slaney and Alberto Salazar included in the 200-shoe exhibit.
“It’s a lot of fun; it’s not a boring, stagnant exhibit,” Craig said. “There is a section where you can try on shoes from around the world.”
“Walk a Mile in These Shoes” also features a way to immortalize your own footwear fashions.
The museum set up a huge digital photo frame that displays shoes and messages from visitors.
“We encourage everyone to come over and add their footwear because that’s something that will live on,” Craig said.
Eugene’s other popular art galleries and museums have also created special track-related exhibits to coincide with the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, located at 1223 University of Oregon, is showcasing the best of track and field photography in an exhibit called “Faster, Higher, Farther: The Spirit of Track and Field Sport.”
The exhibit features work by some of the world’s best photojournalists, including Annie Leibovitz, David Burnett, Kenneth Jarecke and Dilip Mehta.
“Track Town USA” is on display at the Maude Kerns Art Center, located at 1910 E. 15th Ave. The exhibit features artwork in all media showcasing track and field, including photographs from the Register-Guard.
The Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts, 110 W. Broadway, put together “The Notion of Motion,” which was created by local artists Tenold Peterson and Steven Oshatz for the Trials. It is a collaborative installation that features movement as a visual expression.
Other artists involved with “The Notion of Motion” are photographer Sergio Ortiz and sculptor Don MacLane.
Bohman said that the Festival wanted to focus on a variety of aspects of art in the Eugene community.
“Art has been woven into some of the things that’s been going on festival,” she said.
“We think it’s an important part of our community.”
So where does sport meet art? In the world’s greatest city of arts and the outdoors.
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