The University Archives is pleased to announce a new exhibit opening this week in the South Lobby/East Wing of Green Library, highlighting its vibrant collection of materials documenting queer history at Stanford. An online exhibit sharing these same titles and more can be accessed via exhibits.stanford.edu/queer.
A Japanese book from the East Asia Library's collection of rare books is currently on display at the Cantor Arts Center as part of the exhibit entitled "A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography," curated by Phoenix Yu-chuan Chen, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Art and Art History.
During the late Spring and early Summer of 2016, Jodi Roberts, Halperin Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art, and Sean O'Hanlan, a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in Art History who is writing on Surrealism, viewed the subtantial holdings of Surrealist printed material and ephemera held by the Bowes Art & Architecture Library. After numerous viewings and planning sessions with Peter Blank, Senior Librarian, and additional examinations of material held by Special Collections, Jodi and Sean selected thirty-eight Art Library pieces and two Special Collections pieces for inclusion in "The Conjured Life: The Legacy of Surrealism," a loan show traveling from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
At the entrance hall of the East Asian Library, "Xiaoze Xie: Albums, Prints and Photographs" features two intimate albums with ink drawings from the artist's travels, prints with images of books taken at libraries in China and Canada, and somber photographs suggesting burning of books. The subject, style and format of Xie's work resonate with the specific context of the site. On view Oct. 18, 2016 to Jan. 15, 2017.
Moments of Innovation is a virtual reality film that highlights 125 years of innovation at Stanford. A collaboration between the Stanford University Archives and three graduate students in Stanford’s documentary filmmaking program, the film seamlessly weaves together historical images and audiovisual materials from the Archives with 360° video footage of iconic Stanford locations and experiences.
Today I received a copy of The Time of the Force Majeure: After 45 years, Counterforce is on the Horizon (Munich: Prestel, 2016), a major title on Helen and Newton Harrison, celebrated artists in what has become known as the Eco Art movement. With six critical essays this 464 page retrospective monograph covers their remarkable shared studio practice of forty-five plus years. SUL acquired the Helen & Newton Harrison papers in 2010.
This years IFLA Arts Libraries Satellite meeting was held at the Art Institute of Chicago, with papers delivered on the theme of "The Art Library as Place: Building on the Past, Building for the Future." Art librarians from eight countries spoke to a select audience of art librarians from around the world on a host of planning, facilities, and program issues pertaining to the refurbishing of existing historical structures (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; INAH Art, Paris; Pushkin State Museum of Art, Moscow, etc.) or 100% new construction (Stanford's Bowes Library). Peter's paper, "Designing for the Program, Programming for the Design" was part of two sessions devoted to "Architecture's Impact on the Library's Program," with the second paper in his session delivered by Anne Buxtorf (pictured), Director, INHA National Art History Library, Paris, which is in the midst of a major renovation project.
This year, Stanford Classics turns 125, and to celebrate, we have put together an exhibit examining its early history. While small and undistinguished early on, the department quickly produced scholars of distinction. Today it is a major center of American classics, and a world leader in the study of ancient Greece and Rome. Still, the century and a quarter that intervenes between us and its foundation is often a sort of ever-advancing black box—that is, we seldom have an institutional memory that extends any further back than the recollection of the faculty's most senior member. Earlier outlines of the department's history are therefore simply lost. This exhibit hopes to shed some light on that earlier place and time.