1871 home reflects world of art, tastes of owner

You wouldn't call J.R. Morrison a masked man. Rather, he's a man with many masks.

He began collecting masks in 1971 on his first trip to Santa Fe and Mexico and didn't stop until 15 or so years later, when he married Kim Shedaker, who, he said, knew that his collection was "part of the package."

Over those years he amassed not only a large collection of masks but also of Mexican folk art, and paintings by two local artists, Peter Bodnar and Glen Davies.

"I was single. It was my passion. That's what I did," Morrison said.

His 1871 home near downtown Urbana reflects that. Decorating its neutral colored walls, from nearly floor to ceiling, are Mexican, Nicaraguan, Balinese and Tibetan masks, and numerous, colorful paintings by Bodnar, Davies and Tavlos, a Chicago artist of Greek ancestry.

Morrison befriended Tavlos when both were students in the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts. After graduating, Tavlos moved to Santa Fe and Morrison traveled there three or four times a year to see him.

At first on his travels Morrison bought decorative masks. He later began to purchase only masks that had been used in dance rituals – they are much harder to find. Eventually he returned to collecting masks that he liked, not worrying about their provenance. Most of his are not antique except for a devil mask that Bodnar gave him.

"We have no way of knowing how old that one is, and it's not talking," Morrison said.

That mask sports real teeth and pointed ears and horns; most of its yellowish paint is peeled away.

Morrison would determine the quality of masks he saw by examining how the wood was carved. "The inside of the mask speaks volumes," the collector said.

He also looked for signs of wear and tear.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell because they could be faked," he said.

Some artisans try to make the masks appear antique or more valuable by creating false patinas or wear marks by deliberately abusing or burying them.

Morrison, though, feels he was never taken financially. He paid nominal amounts for most of the masks he acquired in Mexico. He purchased others from the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe and reputable shops there and in nearby Taos.

While most of the masks he owns would fit his face, Morrison – he never wears them, even on Halloween – also has quite a few tiny ones that dancers would attach to their costumes. He displays those in vertical lines on his walls.

He has so many masks that every time you look again at a wall you discover another mysterious mask you hadn't fully noticed before.

For example you might miss, high on one wall, two decorative masks covered with wax and glass seed beads. They were made by the Huichol people of Mexico.

Other masks owned by Morrison represent conquistadors, men with beards or moustaches, women with thick red lips, demons, spirits and animals.

Another big part of Morrison's collection: the striking clay folk-art sculptures from Ochumichu, a Mexican village known primarily for the pieces. He has many on display on shelves and 40 more tucked away in storage. Most are religious in nature, depicting scenes such as the Crucifixion, the Last Supper and Day of the Dead.

"That's why there are so many skulls and skeletons in them," Morrison said.

Morrison, 63, graduated from the UI in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design. After serving two years in the military, he returned to the UI on the GI Bill to earn a master's in graphic design.

In 1974 he began working full time for the Illini Union as its art director. He stayed 31 years, retiring four years ago. He might start collecting masks and other art again.

People often ask him about the value of his existing collection. He honestly doesn't know how to answer.

"I only just collect and have never sold anything, and most of the things I bought 25 or 30 years ago. To me, as you might guess, they're priceless."

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