Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (49)

Jonathan Elmore
Oct 3
3 min read

Updated: 5 minutes ago

NORMAN

On the campus of Oklahoma University in Norman, there is an absolute treasure of a museum, The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Since it was my first time to visit, I pulled into what I thought was the parking lot, but I quickly surmised that I had entered a service entrance for campus work carts. Oops! I found the Elm Street parking garage and then made my way back to the museum. Before I even set foot inside, sculptures greeted me both in front of the building and on The Stuart Walk along side of the museum. And, of course, I had to take a selfie with a goddess. Ha!

Once I was done snooping around outside I headed in where I was greeted by two fantastic, young, polite, and beautiful humans. They graciously let me explain about my museum journey and this blog. Thanks, you two! Quick side note: a lot of websites state that this museum is free to the public. It is not. It is free to a few demographics like members, OU students, and military folks. (I personally think that if you've served in the US military you should get in free to every museum forever, but no one asked me.) If you're like me and just a regular guy, the fee is $12. And to see the amazing collection that they have put together, it's well worth it.

I have been to countless museums that are heavy in one catagory or another, like Impressionism or Renaissance. Nothing wrong with that. Whoever it was that acquired the artwork may have loved a certain style or happened upon a Surrealism yard sale and bought everything they had. Okay, that might be silly, but stranger things have happened! What I found wonderful about the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art was there weren't massive amounts of one particular genre, media, or time period. They had a representation of art from nearly every era, every part of the world, and every medium. Each little alcove brought a new style or a new place of origin. I'm being a museum nerd here, but it was honestly exciting to see what was going to be around the next corner. The museum also had a great mix of artists that we all know and artists I was discovering for the first time. It was fantastic to see Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, and Bob Rauschenberg, but it was equally thrilling to discover Adrian Arleo, Helen Hardin, and Robert Gwathmey. And since the museum is multi-storied, there is a lot of each to see. Now I'm going to tell on myself. When I was on the second floor in the Western part of the museum. I was going painting to painting marveling at the work, then looking at the placard that had the artist's name, title of the work, and a brief description. I got to one portrait of John Wayne and thought, "Oh, come on, this guy totally ripped off Andy Warhol's style. What kind of jackwagon just blatantly steals such a popular style?" Miffed, I looked at the card. It was actually an Andy Warhol painting. Doh! I had to laugh at myself.

At the top of the museum there are displays of some of the classic Frankoma Pottery. I remember seeing quite a few of the pieces that were here on display in my wife's grandmother's house. It would have been cool to have one of those pieces as a memento, but an uncle showed up and took it all after she passed. Frustrating, but you know how some family can be. Anyway, also on that floor is a kids area where they can design their own bowls and plates in a little workshop (pictued below). Once I saw every last corner of the museum, I was ready to call it a day. I had taken the stairs up, so I opted for the elevator down. As I was passing back through the ground floor, I couldn't help but look at the art hanging in the main hall again. If you can, make a trip to this museum and you'll see why.

555 Elm Avenue, Norman

405-325-3272

https://www.ou.edu/fjjma

Entry Fee: $12 Adults, Free admission available; see website under Visit