Event: 2023 Moving Image Show at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, 333 SE Bay Blvd, Newport, Oregon
Exhibition Run Dates: Now thru Spring (Days with Long Evening Hours) projected onto the front of the museum building.
From now thru the Spring season, the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center (PMHC) invites the public to come down to the Newport Bayfront after dark and enjoy the 2023 version of their evening Moving Image Show, now showing, after dark, on the exterior side of the Doerfler Family Theater windows at the PMHC. This special video installation features numerous photographs from the historical image collection of the Lincoln County Historical Society’s (LCHS) Log Cabin Research Library. The program loops every twelve minutes, opening with an invitation and information about visiting the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center. The production will run evenings Tuesday-Sunday from 4 PM until 10 PM (except the first Thursday of each month). This is a free opportunity for the public to enjoy some of the images from the Lincoln County Historical Society’s collection. This special image show is viewed after dark on the Newport Bayfront standing on the sidewalk in front of the museum or across the street on the boardwalk near Port Dock 5. The show will cease in the spring when the days grow longer, and we return to long hours of daylight.
This fun outdoor slide show showcases images from the LCHS archives and is the creation of Newport artist, author and museum volunteer, Carol Shenk. The Moving Image Show is now in its second year with the projection being revised to include new images and animations. Carol Shenk describes the video installation as, “a sort of visual poem about our coastal home and our histories,” using images from the collection, some of which she made into playful animations, as well as text prompting viewers to think about your relationship to the ocean and the past. The projection also serves as an invitation to folks to visit the PMHC and enjoy its quality exhibits.
In this year’s sequence, many figures first appear in silhouette, some animated, which then resolve into the original photos. These initial shadows of people and things from the past are meant to draw viewers into the images with a questioning mindset. They were inspired by a historical form of home entertainment from American folk culture—the “crankie”— in which a scroll of paper illustrated with painted backgrounds and shadow-puppet-like figures is pulled across a light box to create a moving image that tells a story.
Carol Shenk volunteered her time to create the slideshow. “It’s been exciting to be able to share some of LCHS’s wonderful photo collection in this way–to make historical images accessible as public art in a dynamic format. Hopefully the installation will help people place our contemporary lives into context: what our region has been like in past eras, and how individuals have shaped our community over time,” stated Shenk.
“We are overjoyed by Carol’s enthusiasm for our image collection and greatly appreciate her support and willingness to lend her talents to help the museum create engaging and fun programs for the public,” stated Susan Tissot, Executive Director of the Lincoln County Historical Society. “We hope the public will take advantage of this free evening show and maybe also support our local Bayfront restaurants before or after viewing the show.
About the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center
The Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, located at 333 SE Bay Blvd in Newport’s Historic Bayfront, is one of two historic properties operated by the nonprofit Lincoln County Historical Society.
The 30,000 sq ft flagship site, features panoramic views of Yaquina Bay, two changing exhibit galleries, three permanent galleries, the 121seat Doerfler Family Theater, the seasonal evening Moving Image Show and a Museum Store. The theater includes an 18 ft screen and a self-serve menu of 18 short historic films for the museum visitor to select from. Regular hours of operation are Tuesday – Sunday 11 am – 4 PM. Onsite parking is available. Admission rates apply. Admission is free to LCHS Members, Active-Duty military, and children 12 & under.
Family and group rates available. Thru January 14, veterans and their spouses/partners also receive free museum admission.
Serving the public since 1948, the LCHS preserves the collective memory of Lincoln County and includes the Log Cabin Research Library Archive and 1895 Burrows House located at 545 SW 9th St., Newport. A sampling of historic images from the LCHS collection can be seen online at: oregondigital.org. For more information visit: oregoncoasthistory.org or call 541-265-7509.
Follow the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center on Facebook, Instagram @lincolnco.historicalsociety or Twitter @maritime_center.
Press:
A Window of Opportunity (Oregon Coast Today)
Moving Image Show at Pacific Maritime Heritage Center (News Times)