The James M. Floyd Memorial: An Installation by Nancy Floyd

The James M. Floyd Memorial was first shown in 1986 in Los Angeles and League City. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was shown in Washington, D.C., where it was included in War and Memory at the Washington Project for the Arts.

All photos courtesy: The James M. Floyd Memorial

(SALEM) - Contemporary artist Nancy Floyd’s installation dedicated to her brother who was killed in the Vietnam War will be on exhibit Aug. 5th to Oct. 21st in the Study Gallery at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University. Floyd created the installation, The James M. Floyd Memorial, in honor of her brother Jim, who was killed in 1969. Floyd will give an illustrated slide show lecture about her work of the past 20 years, including The James M. Floyd Memorial, at 5:00 PM Sept. 15th in the Roger Hull Lecture Hall at the museum. The lecture is free and open to the public. A preview reception will follow from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the lobby and galleries downstairs. The museum also will host a free, four-part film series, Vietnam: On the Frontlines, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM Sept. 14th and 28th and Oct. 5th and 19th in the Roger Hull Lecture Hall. The exhibition includes photos and mementos of James Floyd and represents the artist’s recollection of a brother who went off to war and came home in a flag-draped coffin. “I am interested in telling a story different from the ones [found] in history books, or on television, or in the movies,” Floyd has commented. “Many people don’t realize what a family goes through when a loved one is lost. I want the viewer to see the real effect of war.” Nancy Floyd, the youngest of six children, was born in Monticello, Minn., in 1956 and raised in League City, Texas. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of arts degree from Columbia College Chicago, and a master of fine arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Since 1996, she has been an associate professor in the School of Art and Design at Georgia State University in Atlanta. The James M. Floyd Memorial was first shown in 1986 in Los Angeles and League City. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was shown in Washington, D.C., where it was included in War and Memory at the Washington Project for the Arts. It also was included in A Different War, a major traveling exhibition organized by Lucy Lippard and John Olbrantz that examined the impact of the Vietnam War on contemporary American art. The James M. Floyd Memorial: An Installation by Nancy Floyd has been supported in part by grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax Funds and the Oregon Arts Commission. The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00 PM. The galleries are closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855.