Rhapsody in Gray

60” x 30” 1-color woodcut print with blind embossing (64"x35"framed)

Artist Statement:
This Oregon Sea Grant-funded print features the silhouette of a gray whale, the iconic resident of Oregon’s coastal waters. The images within the silhouette highlight coastal ecosystems, how they function, and the biodiversity of the reef ecology.

The goal of creating this large-format woodcut print was to cultivate environmental literacy, including an understanding of traditional, Indigenous, and local knowledge, with a focus on coastal, coastal watershed, and marine ecosystems. The print will be shown at Hatfield Marine Science Center Visitor Center starting March 24th (Whale Watching Week) and be on display through the Summer of 2025 (and, hopefully, additional venues).

The print is accompanied by an augmented reality (AR) experience (https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/rhapsody/the-augmented-reality-videos/). The AR experience includes videos from the marine scientists, conservationists, historians and members of the Coquille Indian Tribe that I consulted with to describe the details that I included in the print in their own words. The videos feature music by Joshua Phillips, inspired by gray whale vocalizations.

The "ghost area" around the whale includes some of the historical objects and events from the area. These are the things that constantly haunt and lurk in the periphery, shaping not only the history but the future of the Oregon coast: commercial whaling, fur trapping, whale products, Oregon tribal whale harvests, etc.

"Rhapsody in Gray" is a sister piece to my 2024 print “Raised by the Shark” about growing up at the New Jersey shore. This piece works as a standalone print and can also be paired in a display with “Raised by the Shark” ( https://dutch318.wixsite.com/keith-van-norman/portfolio-collections/my-portfolio/raised-by-the-shark ).


- Hatfield Marine Science Center Visitor’s Center (Newport): on permanent display
- Salem on the Edge Gallery (Salem): April 4-27, 2025
- SOUNDBOX 8, Ray Theater, PRAx (Corvallis): May 1-2, 2025
- Art About Agriculture Touring Exhibition 2025 - selected for an Art About Agriculture Purchase Award
- - Giustina Gallery (Corvallis): May 5-25, 2025
- - Pendleton Art Center (Pendleton): July 3 – August 16, 2025
- - Alexander Gallery (Oregon City): September 29-August 31, 2025
- Coquille Indian Tribe Land – print and original carved woodblock (Coos Bay): TBD