For those distant to campus, or who would like to experience the latest Main Library Gallery exhibition from home, a virtual tour of From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 is now available online.
From the Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 virtual tour, Main Library Gallery.
The tour features 360° photos of the Main Library Gallery, which allow the viewer to move from area to area. The text panels and the cases containing the items on display are clickable, meaning close-up views of most objects are available along with narrative from curator Dr. Anna Barker.
The exhibition features several books from the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & Archives, including illustrated limited editions of Dostoevsky novels, 19th century travel books, a 19th century Russian P︠S︡altirʹ (Psalms), and even editions of books by Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Franz Kafka, and Aldous Huxley. These are supplemented by materials from the UI Libraries circulating collection and from the curator’s own collection.
An immersive reader option is readily available in each section of the virtual exhibit to read the detailed image descriptions for each piece on display.
To read about the specific items featured in the exhibit, check out the accessible exhibition guide. It includes an introduction by the curator.
The Fall 2021 exhibition is now open in the Main Library Gallery. From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 was curated by Anna Barker, an adjunct assistant professor in the Asian and Slavic Languages and Literature department at the University of Iowa. Her selections and research, coupled with bold exhibit design by University of Iowa Libraries creative coordinator Kalmia Strong, make the life and acclaimed works of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky both tangible and approachable.
A storied literary giant, Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881) authored many undisputed classic novels and was writing at the same time as Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Samuel Clemens, and others. The exhibition examines his inspirations and influence in the world of literature, but it also shares the odyssey of his personal life. In his earlier years he was a daydreaming youth, an aspiring translator, and a champion of freedom and progress. His involvement in the radical Petrashevsky Circle landed him in a Siberian hard labor camp, a difficult circumstance which was the catalyst for many more years of personal struggle and commercial success. Among other things, the exhibition briefly chronicles his marriages, affair, family relationships, gambling addiction, European travels, and his spiritual journey alongside publication of his major works. In his later years he was recognized for his wisdom and literary achievements; at the time, he was hailed as the conscience of the nation. His works are still popular worldwide, and he continues to be celebrated in Russia.
In this Q&A with the curator, Anna Barker explains her interest in creating an exhibition for the University of Iowa Libraries’ Main Library Gallery in collaboration with the Libraries’ exhibit production team.
What inspired you to curate an exhibition about Fyodor Dostoevsky and his work?
Anna: “I love Dostoevsky. Deeply, profoundly, and crushingly. It was not a love at first sight. In my teens and twenties, I was infatuated with Pushkin and Lermontov and Turgenev and Tolstoy and Dumas and Stendhal and Hugo and Goethe. Dostoevsky came later, in my thirties, when the heart learned grief and the mind became weary of doubt. If I could sum up Dostoevsky in one statement, it would be through the words of one of my favorite Dostoevsky characters, Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov: ‘The world is a good place. We may be bad, but the world is a good place. We are bad and good, both bad and good…’
My students find Dostoevsky’s novels eerily relatable precisely because Dostoevsky, with uncanny and unflinching insight, managed to depict the totality of humanity, never shying away from the horror concealed in the human soul, but always keeping faith in the light.”
Main Library Gallery, University of Iowa Libraries. From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200. (Photo/Sara Pinkham)
What do you hope visitors will gain by visiting the exhibit?
Anna: “I hope those who visit the exhibit will gain a greater appreciation of not only the works of Dostoevsky, but of his art in the context of both Russian culture and Western civilization. Other familiar names in the exhibit relate in some way to Dostoevsky, such as Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Robert Louis Stevenson, Oscar Wilde, Sylvia Plath, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Franz Kafka, George Orwell, and even Jesse Eisenberg!”
Which items on display are your favorites?
Anna: “All of the novels with illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg – they are fabulous! He really understood the totality of Dostoevsky’s vision. The Russian travel books from Special Collections & Archives add a historical and geographical dimension to the exhibition. I love the Tula samovar and Russian Imperial Porcelain in the front display case because they provide a cozy invitation into the gallery. There are also some invaluable juxtapositions that help unfold the essence of the novels: the Eichenberg illustration from Demons paired with my family’s icon of Saint George and the Dragon, and a reproduction image of The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb (1520-22), a work by Hans Holbein the Younger, paired with the Eichenberg illustration from The Idiot which depicts a section of this painting. The exhibit also has a soundtrack which provides visitors with another dimension for appreciating the exhibit. It helps add to the experience of Russian culture.”
For those new to Dostoevsky, which novel would you recommend reading first?
From the exhibition: Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot. Translation by Constance Garnett. Edited for this edition and with an introduction by Avrahm Yarmolinsky. Illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg. New York: For the Members of the Limited Editions Club, 1956. [x-Collection, FOLIO PG3326 .I3 1956] University of Iowa Special Collections & Archives. (Photo/Sara Pinkham)Anna: “If readers are interested in the totality of Dostoevsky’s artistic and philosophical vision, all of the novels on display in the exhibit – from Poor Folk to The Brothers Karamazov. But that’s a lot of reading! If readers are interested in the final five novels in the exhibit (Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Adolescent, The Brothers Karamazov), please start with Notes from Underground. It serves as the foundation for those novels. Reading Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons would be fabulous before reading Dostoevsky. It inspired many of Dostoevsky’s ideological musings.”
Which Dostoevsky-related events are you most looking forward to this fall?
Anna: “The screenings of Dostoevsky film adaptations at FilmScene, and The Grand Inquisitor play by Riverside Theatre being performed in the Main Library Gallery!”
From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 will be on display in the Main Library Gallery through December 17, 2021. Learn more about the exhibition here.
NOTE: The easiest way to access the Main Library Gallery is via the north entrance of the Main Library.
Guests from the general public and the University community are welcome to stop by the Gallery any time during open hours. No appointments are needed. Classes may occasionally be visiting the gallery during open hours.
The Fall 2021 Main Library Gallery exhibition, From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200, will open on August 16.
Curated by Dr. Anna Barker, University of Iowa professor of Russian literature, the exhibition is dedicated to the life and work of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) and covers the entirety of Dostoevsky’s prolific literary career. His youth, his years of exile in Siberia, a period of gambling addiction, and his philosophical and theological teachings are explored in the context of Russian historical events and many of his most famous novels, from Poor Folk to The Brothers Karamazov.
The exhibition contains many items from the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & Archives, including several beautifully illustrated special editions of Dostoevsky’s novels; 19th century books about travel; classic novels by Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Dickens; and a rare 19th century Russian Psaltir (Psalms).
From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 will close on December 17, 2021.
From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200 in the Main Library Gallery.
The Main Library Gallery now has new walk-in hours for Summer 2021 and beyond!
Guests from the general public and the University community are welcome to stop by the Gallery any time during open hours. The Main Library no longer requires an Iowa One Card for building entry. No appointments are needed. Please wear a mask until vaccinated, or if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
From the Building Our Own Community: 50 Years of the Latino Native American Cultural Center, Founded by Chicano and American Indian Students in 1971 exhibition. Photo: Sara Pinkham.
The University of Iowa Libraries’ Main Library Gallery is now seeking exhibition proposals for Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Fall 2024. University of Iowa faculty and staff are invited to submit statements of interest between May 28 and July 16, 2021. Proposals from across campus are welcome. Read on to learn more about curating exhibitions in the Main Library Gallery and to find a link to the submission form.
From Stories Worth Telling: Marking Twenty Years of “The Greatest Generation,” co-curated by Elizabeth Riordan & Laura Michelson, 2018.
What is the Main Library Gallery?
The University of Iowa Libraries’ Main Library Gallery is a museum-quality exhibition space located on the ground floor of the Main Library. The Gallery is equipped with temperature and humidity controls, professional grade display cases with alarms, and low light, all of which make it a suitable environment for rare artifacts requiring special display conditions. The facility has the capacity to host exhibition-related public programs for up to 100 guests in person, and the Gallery is a member of the American Alliance of Museums. A key purpose of the Gallery is to showcase UI Libraries collections.
Past Exhibitions:
Exhibits at the Main Library Gallery give the campus community and the general public access to items from the rich collections of the University of Iowa Libraries, including those which are rare and historically significant. Exhibit curators select unique objects, photos, papers, and books from these collections to tell stories about a range of fascinating topics, some of which have included:
the ground-breaking space discoveries of UI professor James Van Allen
Shakespeare’s First Folio, a rare volume of the bard’s plays published only one year after his death
Star Trek memorabilia from the personal collection of Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer
the accomplishments and legacies of African American Hawkeyes
early filmmaking in Iowa as seen through the lens of Frank Brinton
a tribute to Walt Whitman
selections from the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry
a 50th anniversary celebration of the Latino Native American Cultural Center
How is the role of curator defined for the Main Library Gallery?
A guest curator in the Main Library Gallery is someone who assembles a research-based story narrative for the exhibition medium. This storytelling is enhanced by a selection of compelling items from the Libraries collections. In addition to researching for and curating items for the exhibition, people in this role must expect to serve as subject matter experts throughout the duration of an exhibit. This includes some exhibit-related class interaction or instruction, public programming, and serving as a content consultant for exhibit-related videos, social media and blog posts, and other engagement projects being created by Gallery staff to promote an exhibit.
Janet Weaver, Assistant Curator in the Iowa Women’s Archives, assists co-curators Dr. Kim Marra and Mark Anderson as they select items for The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities, 2020.
Lead curators should be prepared to devote approximately 15 months to exhibition production: 9 months of moderate work to plan the exhibition, followed by 3 months of intensive work before opening day, and ending with approximately 3 – 5 months of intensive work while the exhibition is open, depending upon the exhibit’s run dates. This includes availability to give guided tours, talks, and other types of exhibit-related programming where possible.
Who can curate an exhibit in the Main Library Gallery?
Faculty and staff of the University of Iowa are eligible to serve as lead curators. Students and community members may be approved as co-curators.
How are exhibitions chosen?
Step I: Potential curators submit an initial statement of interest, after which the Gallery Advisory Team reviews the collected statements. Strong statements are chosen by this team for the next step. Top consideration will be given to exhibition ideas with well-defined themes, learning objectives, potential for community and curricular impact, and which prioritize inclusion. The Gallery Advisory Team is made up of nine UI Libraries staff members, a representative from the Pentacrest Museums, and an Associate University Librarian.
Step II: The initial statements with the strongest themes and highest potential for impact are invited to create and submit a complete exhibition proposal.
Step III: The Gallery Advisory Team reviews and selects the most rounded finalist proposals. Three proposals will be accepted, one each for the following time slots: Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Fall 2024.
Step IV: Approved guest curators begin working with the Gallery’s exhibition and engagement coordinator. A production calendar will be established.
Can I propose the installation of a traveling exhibition from another organization?
Yes. However, traveling shows must be proposed by a University of Iowa faculty or staff member, as with all exhibits. This faculty or staff member must be willing to serve in a curatorial capacity and provide subject matter expertise for classes and public programming throughout the duration of the exhibition.
The Main Library Gallery is part of the University of Iowa Libraries. Can I curate an exhibition of non-UI Libraries materials?
University of Iowa Libraries materials must play a starring role in Main Library Gallery exhibitions, but may be shown alongside approved items loaned from other institutions, campus GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) partners, or collectors.
TIMELINE
July 16: Deadline for statements of interest. August 2: Decisions are announced. Finalists are invited to write complete proposals. December 1: Deadline for finalist exhibition proposals. December 17: 2023 – 2024 exhibitions are announced.
Curating an exhibition is a significant time investment, but the exhibit production process will be guided by Gallery staff and a reasonable production calendar. A professional designer, preparator, conservator, and exhibition and engagement coordinator will ensure success.
From Building Our Own Community: 50 Years of the Latino Native American Cultural Center, Founded by Chicano and American Indian Students in 1971. Main Library Gallery, University of Iowa Libraries.
2021 is a milestone year for the Latino Native American Cultural Center (LNACC), which has served as a home away from home for Latinx and Native American students at the University of Iowa since 1971. Anniversary festivities will continue throughout the calendar year as the campus community and alumni celebrate 50 years of the LNACC. The current Main Library Gallery exhibition, curated by librarians Rachel Garza Carreón and Christopher Ortega, will be extended through July 23 to provide more opportunities for visitors to learn about the Center’s history and impact.
The University of Iowa Libraries invites you to online trivia, emcee’d by Andrew’s Bar Exam. Join for eight rounds of general knowledge questions and see if your team triumphs!
Form a team with your family, friends, or colleagues to compete, or compete individually. (Please arrange a secondary method for your team members to communicate outside of the Zoom event to confer on answers. Text, Facebook messenger, Discord, or other conference call apps are all good options.)
No pre-registration is required, though Andrew’s Bar Exam will be accepting donations throughout the duration of the event.
Any donations received will go toward the UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship Fund. Student employees provide critical staffing for programs and services benefitting the entire UI community. These scholarships are a way to recognize, support, and motivate students in their scholarship, research, and creative work at the University.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Katie Buehner in advance at (319) 335-3088 or katie-buehner@uiowa.edu.
For those distant to campus, or who would like to experience the latest Main Library Gallery exhibition from home, a virtual tour of Building Our Own Community:50 Years of the Latino Native American Cultural Center, Founded by Chicano and American Indian Students in 1971 is now available online.
Image featuring the #DoesUIowaLoveMe section of the Building Our Own Community exhibit virtual tour, Main Library Gallery.
The tour features 360° photos of the Main Library Gallery, which allow the viewer to move from area to area. The text panels and the cases containing the items on display are clickable, meaning close-up views of the items are available along with narrative from curators Rachel Garza Carreón and Christopher Ortega.
The exhibition features a large number of carefully selected news articles from The Daily Iowan, all of which are linked to The Daily Iowan Archive and can be read in full with no access restriction.
Many materials are from the Latino Native American Cultural Center Records in the University Archives, digital versions of which can be read or viewed throughout the virtual exhibit or via the Iowa Digital Library. The exhibit also spotlights recent photographs from activism and activities supported by the Latino Native American Cultural Center. A special digital pamphlet containing personal notes from the curators is located near the gallery’s virtual front doors, and is also on the Main Library Gallery website.
An immersive reader option is readily available in each section of the virtual exhibit to read the detailed image descriptions for each piece on display out loud.
Chicano Conference ’74: Nuestra Realidad program. Latino Native American Cultural Center Digital Collection, Iowa Digital Library.
In April 1974, the Chicano Indian-American Student Union (later the LNACC) at the University of Iowa hosted a two-day series of lectures, workshops, and performances in Iowa City. Chicano Conference ’74 was held in the Iowa Memorial Union. The purpose of the conference was “to create an awareness of, and to eradicate, the educational policies and social attitudes in both public and private sectors which have denied Chicanos their full rights as citizens, their enjoyment of liberty as a people, and their freedom as human beings.” As part of this gathering, an exhibition of art by Manuel Unzueta was presented. Mr. Unzueta, an internationally acclaimed Chicano artist, traveled to Iowa City for the conference from his home in Santa Barbara, California, where his many murals even now continue to inspire conversation and have become an important part of the area’s history.
During his stay in Iowa City, Mr. Unzueta visited the LNACC’s new location at 308 Melrose Avenue. He decided to paint a wall mural as a gift to the LNACC.
Original mural by Manuel Unzueta, painted in 1974. Photograph from 1999, Latino Native American Cultural Center Digital Collection, Iowa Digital Library.
According to a Daily Iowan article from 2001, the mural was a “spontaneous product of a lively gathering at the center” in which students had an opportunity to meet with the artist. For years afterward, the mural was an energizing presence. It was the backdrop for crucial conversations, early activism on campus, social events, and community celebrations.
Over time, the mural began to show signs of deterioration. A local Chicano artist was hired in 2001 in an effort to restore it. The resulting changes, however, were polarizing. In the exhibition, Rachel Garza Carreón and Christopher Ortega explain that “these alterations were controversial because some community members felt that they changed the overall tone of the original mural.” During the restoration, “they altered the original in ways that had not been discussed beforehand, including changes in color and the removal of the original artist’s name and dedication (‘To all my carnales of Iowa. M. Unzueta, 1974’).” While many lamented the loss of the original mural, others in the community expressed gratitude to the artist working to improve its condition and help maintain the LNACC.
While the mural looks quite different today than it did in 1974, it continues to contribute to the atmosphere of community at the Center. Its story is an important part of LNACC history.
In the Main Library Gallery exhibition, the curators have placed a replica of the original mural in the center of the gallery. If visitors look closely, they will see that it consists of hundreds of photos from the LNACC over the years.
Updated mural, completed in 2001. Latino Native American Cultural Center Digital Collection, Iowa Digital Library.
Students planning the #DoesUIowaLoveMe campaign at the LNACC. Courtesy of the Latino Native American Cultural Center.
Letters to the Editor. (2001). ‘In defense of the original Chicano House mural’ and ‘Support mural work’, The Daily Iowan, 19 July. Available at: https://dailyiowan.lib.uiowa.edu/DI/2001/di2001-07-19.pdf (Accessed: 16 March, 2021, The Daily Iowan Archive).
From the Building Our Own Community: 50 Years of the Latino Native American Cultural Center, Founded by Chicano and American Indian Students in 1971 exhibition.
“El Teatro Zapatista at the University of Iowa was based on El Teatro Campesino, a Chicano guerilla theater troupe created to support Cesar Chavez’ United Farm Workers. In El Teatro Zapatista, actors presented socially-pointed skits, or actos, to radicalize, educate, mobilize, and motivate the target audience to become more involved in issues within their own communities or to question long-held beliefs. The skits also inspired pride in Chicano history and identity.
Along with El Teatro Zapatista, there was also an affiliated student group of baile folklorico dancers called Los Bailadores that also sought to expose audiences to Chicano art, music, and ideals.
These two groups would often work together to help inspire Latino and Native American students in Iowa and its neighboring states to pursue higher education.
The performativity of Los Bailadores and El Teatro Zapatista presented a transformative, living, engaged, multi-purpose, and multi-layered activism within the Chicano Indian American Student Union, and it represented a resistance to negative images of what it meant to be Chicano. Those involved in them were not just presenting a message to their audiences. They were also empowering themselves through creative thought processes that honored their cultural and ethnic identities as well as their political and activist identities.
– Adapted from ‘To Preserve our Heritage and our Identity,’ Sandra Solis”
The University Archives holds the Latino Native American Cultural Center Records, which are comprised of several boxes of original scrapbooks, carefully assembled photo albums, newspaper clippings from The Daily Iowan and other local papers, meeting minutes, mementos from events such as powwows and protests, and more. The collection holds a treasure trove of compelling photographs that help tell the story of the LNACC, and the story of Latinx and Native American student struggles and successes at the University of Iowa.
The curators selected several photos for this portion of the exhibition that they felt represented the spirit of El Teatro Zapatista and Los Bailadores in the 1970s and 1980s, some of which are featured here in this blog post. A large canvas painting by Marco Raya, an artist from Chicago whose works were often exhibited at the LNACC, is also on display in the Main Library Gallery. The painting depicts the Chicano struggle for justice in the United States, and was often used in recruitment efforts as a backdrop to student speeches and performances.
To see more photos, and to view the original canvas painting by Marco Raya, visit the exhibition in the Main Library Gallery through June 25, 2021. Find visiting hours and information below.
Recruitment trip, 1970s. Latino Native American Cultural Center Records, University Archives.Recruitment trip guitar performance, 1970s. Latino Native American Cultural Center Records, University Archives.High school performance, 1970s. Latino Native American Cultural Center Records, University Archives. Note the painting by Marco Raya in the background.
