Psychedelic Pop Art and Pliés

By: Sarah Samala, ‘28

When you think of ballet, what comes to your mind? For most, it’s pink tights, pale tutus and classical music. However, when I was going through the materials donated by visual artist Tom Cramer in the Pacific Northwest Artists Archive, I came across the bright, almost psychedelic backdrops and hand-painted costumes of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s Jungle. Seeing Cramer’s strange, pop-art-esque art that typically covered cars or carved wood totems adorn the bodies and stage of the Oregon Ballet Theatre brought to mind several questions. Why was Tom Cramer chosen to set and costume a ballet? What was Jungle about? And finally, how did Cramer’s sets play into its narrative? Through research and the wealth of papers in the Willamette University Archives, I discovered the history of Jungle, and why Tom Cramer’s art was essential to its role within the modern dance world.

Jungle dancers stand in a line in front of Cramer’s set (TomCramerArt).

Tom Cramer was born in 1960 in Portland Oregon. He earned his BFA at the Museum Art School, now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 1982. Cramer often combined different cultural mediums in his art. His early work, which consisted of abstract art and hand-carved totems, took inspiration from a variety of techniques like traditional Native American wood-carving and German expressionism. Cramer’s bright and chaotic style even made it onto unconventional canvases, as evidenced by his painted Volkswagens. Tom Cramer’s art was loud and memorable, yet described as eerily dark and foreboding by many. It was these qualities that caught the eye of dance agent Alex Dubay, who reached out to the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s artistic director, James Canfield, and pushed the visual artist into the world of ballet and theatre.

The Oregon Ballet Theatre first featured Cramer’s work in the 1994/95 season, where his first ever ballet set debuted in the American Choreographer’s showcase. The showcase was a culmination of several young choreographer’s original works, meant to challenge choreographers and dancers alike through its experimental nature. Shortly after being imbursed for this initial commission, Canfield sought out Cramer for another piece, one that would become one of Canfield’s most well-known works.

Tom Cramer and the set for the Fifth American Choreographer’s Showcase (Box 3, Folder 2).

The 1996/97 season’s “James Canfield Signatures,” featured Jungle, a fast-paced piece meant to capture the violence and majesty of animal life. Unlike most productions, Jungle’s set, which was a thirty-by-sixty-feet mural that channeled the essence of nature in Cramer’s style, was actually created before the choreography. This unconventional choice challenged choreographers to mold their work around the energy of Cramer’s art, making it the foundation of the entire piece. The music used within Jungle was also an unusual choice; forms I, II, III and IV from Future Sound of London’s Lifeforms, uses ambient electronic sounds to mimic the bird and insect sounds of nature rather than carry the audience to a dramatic or climatic ending. The costumes reflect this unorthodox theme as well, instead of tailoring costumes to each dancer, Cramer painted a large piece of nylon in his colorful abstract style that was cut and sewn into the dancer’s outfits, meaning each costume carried a piece of the larger artwork. Some costumes were even painted directly onto the bodysuits while they were on the dancers.

Tom Cramer paints a large strip of nylon that will be cut and sewn into Jungle’s costumes (Box
3, Folder 2).

Aside from the American Choreographer’s Showcase, Jungle and its accompanying James Canfield Signatures were a modern first for the company, which typically produced traditional shows such as The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. Similar to Cramer’s innovative method of combining different mediums, artistic director Canfield wanted Jungle to change the expectations of a “standard” ballet by merging the traditional art form with unconventional practices and abstract art. Throughout his work in the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Canfield strived to “carry ballet from one century to the next” (Box 2, Folder 2) and elevate the older artform for growing modern audiences. Cramer’s unique art served as the backbone for Canfield’s goal, and the contemporary Jungle became an important fixture within the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s history.

After its run in 1997, Jungle went on to fulfill its show’s title and become a James Canfield Signature, eventually being revived in 2002 as one of James Canfield’s final pieces before he left the company. Even today, Oregon Ballet theatre continues to stylize their performances. In the 24/25 season’s Hansel and Gretel, an eerie silent-film aesthetic was combined with gaudy and colorful sets, creating a sense of unease and like with Jungle, causing the production to visually stand out. Cramer went on to paint one more ballet set for Ballet Pacifica’s As is Us, which makes both his work at the Oregon Ballet Theatre and Ballet Pacifica nearly one of a kind. Though Cramer’s art strays toward wood reliefs more than painted murals nowadays, the production still stands as a crucial part of his legacy, and an important milestone in the modernization of the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s shows.

Works Cited


Cramer, Tom. Jungle 1997. Tom Cramer Art. https://www.tomcramerart.com/pages/jungle1.htm
Future Sound of London. Lifeforms, Virgin Records, 1994. Youtube,https://youtu.be/nhOXE4wn6Sk?si=X1oLslwk1oHe3EZ9.
Newspaper articles about art, 1986-2012, Subseries B, Box: 3, Folder: 3. Tom Cramer papers,
WUA122. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
Newspaper clippings (and exhibit fliers and correspondence to Betty Perkins (mother) and
Francesca Stevenson), circa 1979-2011, Subseries B, Box: 3, Folder: 2. Tom Cramer
papers, WUA122. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
Oregon Ballet Theatre booklets and fliers (season schedules), 1994-1997, Subseries A, Box: 2,
Folder: 10. Tom Cramer papers, WUA122. Willamette University Archives and Special
Collections.
Oregon Ballet Theatre. Oregon Ballet Theatre, https://www.obt.org/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Oregon Ballet Theatre “Spring Romance” (article about Tom Cramer), 1995 March 9 – March 12,
Subseries B, Box: 4, Folder: 5. Tom Cramer papers, WUA122. Willamette University
Archives and Special Collections.
Portfolio and resume, circa 2005-2009, Subseries D, Box: 3, Folder: 14. Tom Cramer papers,
WUA122. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.


Two Booklovers and the Laws of War, Peace, and Tariffs

By Doreen Simonsen
Humanities & Fine Arts Librarian, dsimonse@willamette.edu

Four hundred years ago, in 1625, the first edition of De iure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) by the Dutch jurist and theologian, Hugo Grotius was published.  Recently, the Hatfield Library was contacted about our 1646 copy of this book1, which led to some amazing discoveries about the man who owned our copy and his Willamette University connections to historical and current world events.


Jan Wagenaar. Hugo de Groot vlugt uit de Loevesteinsche gevangenis 1621. (Hugo Grotius Escapes the Loevenstein Prison, 1621.) Print, 1754.

Hugo Grotius, born in Delft, the Netherlands, (1583-1645) was an intellectual prodigy, who graduated from the University of Leiden at the age of fourteen.  After holding various municipal posts, he was arrested for treason in 1618 and given a life sentence in Loevenstein Castle.  Here he regularly received a large crate of books for him to read while imprisoned, and his love of books eventually led to his own freedom. In 1621, his wife and her maid managed to fit him [he was a small man] into one of these book crates and it was shipped out of the castle to France,2 where Grotius spent the rest of his life in exile. 


Title Page of De Iure Belli ac Pacis,
7th Ed., 1646.

Hugo Grotius is considered to be the father of International Law.  While living in France Grotius penned his most famous work, De iure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace), which was published in 1625 during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648).  This work was Grotius’ response to “the ‘licentiousness’ of Europe’s Christian rulers in rushing to war for frivolous or imprudent reasons’… Grotius worked to lay a foundation of natural law on which the law of nations and its accompanying laws of war could be built.”  The result is this three volume book.

An article from the November 20, 1897 issue of the Oregon Daily Statesman tells the story of how Willamette University received a copy of this work that now resides in the vault of the Mark O. Hatfield Library.  A copy of this article was cut out and glued to the back inside cover of that book, and it shows the book owner’s bibliophilia:

“The Seventeenth Century Hands Down One of Its Literary Gems to a Prominent Salemite.” 

“Perhaps it would not do to class President W.C. Hawley, of the Willamette University, a bibliomaniac, but that he is a bibliophile will scarcely be denied by any one cognizant of the professor’s love for books; the rarer the book the nearer he approaches the condition besetting the former devotee.

The last volume to cast the spell of its charm, born of antiquity and rare literary quality, upon this accomplished student, was on that crossed his path in Denver, Colorado, during his late visit there as a member of the head camp of the Woodmen of the World.


“Chain & Hardy’s
Parlor Book Store.”
1869-1879.
Denver Public Library. 4

Prof. Hawley was never known to go deliberately by an “old book” stand without stopping, and that he should bring up in front of Chain & Hardy’s stalls in that city, in one of his idle hours, needs no accounting for, but that he did so, is a matter of supreme gratification for him by reason thereof, he is the possessor of a copy of Hugo Grotius’ work on “International Law,” a treatise in Latin, that bears the same relation to the particular phase of jurisprudence that the first edition of Blackstone bore to English law. …

It is the star of his collection, and was aired here yesterday for the first time when he took it to his class in international law at the university, and unfolded its rare contents to the interested and delighted young people who have the good fortune to sit under him as pupils.”5


Bookplate in Mark O. Hatfield Library’s copy of
Hugo Grotius De Iure Belli et Pacis 1846.

The owner of this book was Willis C. Hawley, President of Willamette University from 1893-1902.  In 1897 Hawley was a professor of Political History, Economics, and Political Science, and while at Willamette he studied Law, became a member of the Oregon State Bar and expert on tariff and tax law. The April 1895 edition of The Willamette Collegian describes how Hawley shared his expertise on tariffs with his students:


The Willamette Collegian. Vol. VI, No. 7, April 1895. 6

And the 1897 Willamette University catalog lists the textbooks that professors required for their courses.7  One of the texts that Professor Hawley frequently used in his courses was The Tariff History of the United Statesby Frank William Taussig. 8


“Willamette’s Representative in Congress.” Weekly Willamette Collegian, Vol. XVIII, No 16. Feb. 6, 1907. 9

In 1902, Hawley stepped down as President of Willamette University to prepare for a campaign to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He served in Washington, D.C. as the Representative Oregon’s 1st Congressional District as a Republican from 1907 to 1933, and is best known for introducing legislation, along with Senator Reed Smoot of Utah, that called for raising tariffs. 10


Rep. W.C. Hawley, Reed Smoot, 4/11/29. , 1929 11

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was legislation that increased average import tariffs by approximately 20 percent in an attempt to protect American farmers and businesses from foreign competition during the agricultural crisis of the late 1920s…. Some historians believe that the tariff was so high that it elicited foreign economic retaliation against the United States and helped convert what would have been a normal economic downturn in the U.S. economy into a major worldwide depression.” 12

To learn more watch this short video: Trade Wars: A Look at the Smoot-Hawley Tariff 13

Both Hugo Grotius and Willis C. Hawley loved books, but they are best remembered for their political writings and activities.  Currently the headlines are filled with news about wars challenging International Law and new Trade Wars created by tariffs, issues that Grotius’ and Hawley’s words and experiences could help us to find some solutions. That Hawley owned a rare copy of Grotius’ major work and then donated it to the Willamette University Library is a happy coincidence.  If you would like to see this book for yourself, please contact Doreen Simonsen, dsimonse@willamette.edu to make an appointment

Endnotes:

1. Cleary, Matthew, Edward Jones Corredera, Pablo Nicolas Dufour, Jonathan Nathan, Emanuele Salerno, and Mark Somos. “Hugo Grotius’s De Iure Belli ac Pacis: A Report on the Worldwide Census of the Seventh Edition (1646).” Grotiana 44, no. 1 (2023): 154-180.

2. Kingma, Marja, “Two Women, a Lawyer and a Book Chest” British Library European Studies Blog.  19 April 2021.  https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2021/04/two-women-a-lawyer-and-a-book-chest.html.

3. Devetak, Richard. “Grotius, Hugo.” In The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. : Oxford University Press, 2010. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195334685.001.0001/acref-9780195334685-e-296.

4. Duhem Brothers. “Chain & Hardy’s Parlor Book Store, Books, Stationery, Pictures, and Fancy Goods, 414 Larimer Street, Denver, Col.” Denver Public Library Special Collections, x-18530, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1059480

5.“The Seventeenth Century Hands Down One of Its Literary Gems to a Prominent Salemite.”  Oregon Daily Statesman. Saturday, November 20, 1897.

6. Local and Personal” The Willamette Collegian. Vol. VI, No. 7, April 1895, p. 12.

7. Fifty-Fourth Year Book of the Willamette University for the Year 1897-8 with Announcement and Curricula for 1898-9: pp. 45-46.

8. Taussig, F. W. (Frank William). The Tariff History of the United States : A Series of Essays. New York ; G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1888.

9. “Willamette’s Representative in Congress: Hawley Leaves Willamette.” Weekly Willamette Collegian, Vol. XVIII, No 16. February 6, 1907.

10. Carlson, Luke. ” Willis Hawley (1864-1941).” The Oregon Encyclopedia. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/hawley_willis/. Accessed May 2, 2025.

11. Rep. W.C. Hawley, Reed Smoot, 4/11/29. , 1929. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016843632/

12. “Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930).” In Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, 2nd ed., edited by Thomas Riggs, 1219. Vol. 3. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2015. Gale In Context: U.S. History (accessed May 2, 2025). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3611000828/UHIC?u=s8887317&sid=summon&xid=b6439b7e.

13. “Trade Wars: A Look at the Smoot-Hawley Tariff,” posted on June 18, 2019, by CFR Education, YouTube, 4 min., 29 sec., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4CvLu8HA7I

See Also:

Grotius, Hugo. Hvgonis Grotii De ivre belli ac pacis libri tres, in quibus jus naturæ & gentium, item juris publici præcipua explicantur. Editio nova cum annotatis auctoris, ex postrema ejus ante obitum cura multo nunc auctior. Accesserunt & annotata in Epistolam Pauli ad Philemonem. Amsterdami: apud Iohannem Blaev, 1646.

Grotius, Hugo. The Rights of War and Peace. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Incorporated, 2005. Accessed May 1, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central.


Heritage Celebration

cherry blossom branch and three ceramic vasesMay is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (also known as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month), which provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing heritage and history of people from these areas.  Now is the perfect time to reflect on the traditions, languages, and contributions of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs).  The vibrant and varied cultures of AANHPIs have enriched America’s history and culture in so many ways.  Their impressive achievements in science, art, literature, music, dance, sports, agricultural practices, cuisine, and countless other areas, deserve recognition and appreciation. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge the struggles and hardships experienced by AANHPIs both in the past and the present. Let’s take time this month to pay tribute to the many achievements and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders everywhere. Check out a selection of recent materials by or about AANHPIs available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

For more information, see:

https://asianpacificheritage.gov/

https://fapac.org/AAPI-Resources


Passionate about Poetry

cup of tea, flowers, open books of poetryIn the immortal words of Robert Frost, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”  Do you love a good haiku?  How about a Shakespearean sonnet? Perhaps free verse is more to your liking?  Or maybe you prefer that old crowd favorite, a lyrical limerick?  If poetry brings you solace, or inspiration, or just plain makes you happy, this is the month for you!  That’s right, April is National Poetry Month!  Established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month gives us the chance to celebrate poetry and poets’ vital place in American culture.  Join us in celebrating the wonder of poetry by revisiting your favorite poet or poem.  Alternatively, check out one of these books of poetry or poetry-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”–Emily Dickinson

“Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toenails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own.”–Dylan Thomas


Introducing WUpedia

Did you know?

  • How the Bearcat became the mascot of Willamette University?
  • Which WU president lost his contract renewal due to tobacco use?
  • That the Quad was once an athletic field, and the theater building used to be a gymnasium?
  • A Freshman class challenge in 1909 sparked an annual Glee competition that lasted nearly 90 years?

WU Archives is excited to announce the launch of WUpedia, an online encyclopedia dedicated to exploring the people, organizations, places, events, and history of Willamette University. The site showcases student-written entries, with fresh content added each semester. Stay tuned as we continue to grow this resource, preserving and sharing fun stories, fascinating people, memorable events, and quirky campus history!


Spring Has Sprung!

pink hyacinth flower on open bookThe days are getting longer, early flowers are emerging in all their glorious colors, birds are excitedly chasing earthworms, the weather vacillates from sunny to rainy in mere seconds, and outdoor markets are starting to reopen everywhere.  It’s beginning to look a lot like springtime in the Willamette Valley!  March ushers in the official beginning of spring and offers a whole host of things for us to celebrate such as St Patrick’s Day, March Madness, and of course, who can forget Spring Break?  If you enjoy wildly unpredictable weather, green grass, baby ducklings, and blooming flora such as daffodils, crocuses, tulips, and daphne, this is the season for you!  So get on out there and chase a few rainbows and while you’re at it, check out one of these spring-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” – John Muir
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller


Friend Indeed

red heart paperweight holding open a bookWith Valentine’s Day as its central holiday, February is famous for love.  February is also National Library Lover’s Month so “love is in the air” no matter where you look!  There are lots of wonderful sentiments and song lyrics that celebrate love such as “love conquers all,” “love makes the world go ‘round,” and “all you need is love.”  The emphasis can often seem to be on romantic love but the love we feel for a good friend is just as important and deserves to be celebrated as well.  So if we think about love and friendship together there is one saying that seems to incapsulate Valentine’s Day and Library Lover’s Month quite nicely: “If you have a book, you have a friend.”  This month, we’re paying tribute to love in all its forms whether romantic, platonic, familial, or the love of a good book!  Check out one of these love/friendship-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.


Food, Glorious Food

 

bowls of food on a table The winter months seem to be filled with one holiday after another–Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, New Year’s…  Many of these cultural and/or religious holidays bring together family and friends and whenever people gather, there is usually a meal involved.  When you talk to people about holiday traditions, it seems like food inevitably comes up.  Whether it’s green bean casseroles, black-eyed peas, or matzah balls, everyone has a list of foods they associate with different celebrations.  Many of these foods have deep meaning and significance to the celebrants but also, the breaking of bread together is just a wonderful way of building community and fellowship.  So gather with your people, celebrate the holidays of your choice, eat good food, and maybe just for fun, check out one of these food-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. –Edith Sitwell


Celebrating Indigenous Peoples

A Mexican blanket design. A car decorated with shawls and blankets with two kids riding on top

enit by Wendy Red Star

National Native American Heritage Month (also known as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month) provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing heritage and history of Native Americans. The original inhabitants of America have rich and varied cultures dating back thousands of years. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the traditions, languages, and contributions of the indigenous peoples of North America. There are currently over 500 federally recognized tribes, representing hundreds of different cultures. Contemporary native peoples’ impressive achievements in art, literature, music, dance, sports, cuisine, agricultural practices and so many other areas, deserve recognition and appreciation. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge the struggles and hardships experienced by Native Americans both in the past and the present. Let’s take time this month to pay tribute to the many achievements and contributions of Native Americans everywhere. Check out a selection of recent materials by or about Native Americans available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

For more information, see American Indian and Alaska Native Data Links: https://www.census.gov/about/partners/cic/resources/data-links/aian.html


Autumnity

colorful autumn leavesAccording to Merriam-Webster, autumnity can be defined as the “quality or condition characteristic of autumn.” In other words, it’s that time of the year when the days are often beautiful and warm, but the nights and mornings are cool and crisp. There is occasional rain, but it’s refreshing and exciting rather than tiresome and never-ending. The leaves on the trees are turning beautiful colors, geese are honking through the skies in great numbers, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and a good cup of hot coffee or an amazing tea latte brings serious joy.  It’s the season of apple cider donuts and harvest festivals, falling acorns and scrambling squirrels, flannel sheets and cozy sweaters…

And autumn is the perfect time to curl up in a comfy chair with a warm blanket, a companionable cat or dog, and a good book!  Check out the selection of fall-related titles available from the library’s collection on the WU Reads Reading Guide.

 

Every leaf speaks bliss to me / Fluttering from the autumn tree. — Emily Brontë


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