Category: Exhibitions

Exhibitions

Oct 25 2018

Hand Papermaking is on exhibit in the Reading Room

Posted on by Meaghan Lemmenes

This week we said goodbye to our Herky exhibit and said hello to the beauty of papermaking.

Giselle Simón, Head Conservator at University of Iowa, was invited to curate an exhibit called Hand Papermaking Portfolios: Selections from 1994-2017 in honor of the Dard Hunter and the American Printing History Association joint conference, which will be held here, in Iowa City, starting Thursday, October 25th. 

The pieces on display in the Special Collections Reading Room all come from the Hand Papermaking Portfolios held within Special Collections. There are twelve different categories, including calligraphy, watermarks, pop-up and more. Simón was able to include something from each portfolio for the display, a task that has not been done before now. 

This series is a growing collection, with the first modern hand papermaking produced in 1994 by Hand Papermaking Magazine (a publication founded by Michael Durgin and Amanda Degener in 1986). The goal of the magazine itself was to provide an educational resource for those who did hand papermaking. The portfolios allow paper artists to come together and share skills and information about their work, and they contain the works of several individuals, making this project a true community effort.

“I want people to see the different varieties in hand papermaking,”Simón said. “I want them to see hand papermaking as another medium of making art.”

By looking at the display, viewers can certainly tell it is a form of art. The watermarks display case is an example of that.

When looking at this particular display case, the selections are interesting, but seem to be missing something. Some just look like pieces of paper with a simple image on it. However, it isn’t until the visitor turns on the lights placed underneath the paper that the watermarks are revealed and the images are completed.  

“I enjoyed working with Bill Voss, the exhibit preparator, to create mounts that would illuminate the watermarks,”Simón said.

The watermarks are not the only thing coming to life in the display. There is a display case devoted to pop-up papermaking and it is truly sprouting life. Every piece on exhibit shows how papermaking is a work of art. 

Hand Papermaking Portfolios: Selections from 1994-2017 is now open and will be until early January. 
Art in papermaking
Nature inspired papermaking
Watermark before lights
Watermark after lights
Pop-Up Portfolio
Sep 21 2018

New Exhibit Tells Stories Worth Telling

Posted on by Meaghan Lemmenes

Throughout the history of journalism, there have been different mediums in which writers tell their stories. Print, TV and radio have all dominated the journalistic world at one point in time, and while there are many forms to share information, Special Collections explores Tom Brokaw’s stories from the greatest generation through an exhibit, Stories Worth Telling: Marking 20 Years of “The Greatest Generation.”

Stories Worth Telling: Marking 20 Years of “The Greatest Generation” uses pages, photographs and artifacts from the book, The Greatest Generation, which documents the experiences leading to World War II and those who fought in the war. It also uses materials from the African American Museum of Iowa, Iowa Women’s Archives, and the State Historical Society of Iowa. 

Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, hit the book shelves 20 years ago and became a quick bestseller. The book stirred something within the memory of American citizens, and soon letters from readers poured into Brokaw’s office, sharing their thoughts and own stories about their time on the battlefield or on the home front. 

These letters were kept and eventually made their way to the University of Iowa Libraries when Brokaw donated his papers to Special Collections in 2016. Elizabeth Riordan grew up watching Brokaw, and being a history fanatic herself, she wanted to know more about the collection. So, in 2017 Riordan was hired as the Graduate Research Assistant for the Papers of Tom Brokaw: A Life & Career.

“It’s a fascinating collection,” Riordan said. “You get the biggest events from the last 50 years from the point of view of a reporter, as well as the people he interviewed. It’s also interesting just to look at the history and evolution of journalism.”

While processing the material, Riordan found a lot of interesting objects, including rocks from the Great Wall of China and poems about the moon landing. However, her favorite part of the collection are the letters from readers that came in after The Greatest Generation was written.

Photo taken by Meaghan Lemmenes

And it’s these letters that are the focal point of the exhibit in the Main Gallery. 

“So many people shared their personal stories of triumph and tragedy through manuscripts and letters,” Riordan said. “It opens a different window into a moment of time not always seen in our history books.”

Surrounding the avalanche of letters in the gallery, the “Greatest Generation” unfolds along the walls through quotes from the book, with more stories of people with Iowa connections added along the back wall. Material from Special Collections, Iowa Women’s Archives, African American Museum of Iowa, and the State Historical Society of Iowa all add a part to the WWII narrative.  

“I wanted the exhibit to speak for itself,” Riordan said. “There are so many individual voices telling the story of our past, that I feel it makes it unique. I encourage people to read the stories in the avalanche art piece; don’t just stand and look at it from afar.”

“The letters share where we were as a country and where we can still go,” Riordan continued. “Brokaw called them the “Greatest Generation.” My hope is that this exhibit makes you think about what that term means.”

The exhibit is open to the public from Sept. 7th – Jan. 4, 2019 and visitors can see it Monday- Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., with Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. The exhibit is in the Main Gallery on the first floor of the Main Library. 

Dean Sieperda (Delta Tau Delta) dressed as Herky
Sep 11 2018

Reflections of UI’s Furry and Feathery Mascots

Posted on by Elizabeth Riordan

As we get ready to celebrate Herky’s 70th birthday, curator of the “Hatching Herky” exhibit, Chloe Waryan, looks back on her experiences and Iowa mascots of old. 

In the summer of 2018, I was fortunate enough to be awarded an internship at the University of Iowa Special Collections and University Archives in which I was tasked to design an exhibit celebrating the 70th birthday of Herky the Hawk. I am so touched by the kindness that I received from University Archivist David McCartney, Director of Development Mary Rettig of the Center for Advancement, and donor Jane Roth. I am happy to report that I had a lot of fun learning about the history of the University of Iowa during this internship too!

Press Citizen's picture of Burch the Bear on a chair
Burch the Bear

Though the pre-Herky mascots didn’t make it into the exhibit, their history is fascinating. With the popularity of St. Burch’s Tavern, a new downtown restaurant, many Iowa Citizans may already know that our first mascot was a real live black bear cub named Burch. The significance of a bear as an emblem of UI is unknown, though we do know that the Chicago Cubs also had a black bear sent to them to serve as a mascot around this same time. When Burch became a full-grown bear, he broke out of his cage in the City Park Zoo (yes, City Park once had a zoo), and fled to the riverbank where he was later found dead. On March 10, 1910, the Press Citizen released an article titled “Burch is Found with Taxidermist,” detailing the plans of taxidermist Homer Dill who did work for the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History. However, after talking to Cindy Opitz, current Collections Manager of the UI Museum of Natural History, we learn that if he did indeed drown, Burch’s head was probably bloated and therefore not suitable for taxidermy. According to a Press Citizen article on April 8, 2018, Trina Roberts, Director of UI’s Pentacrest Museums, does not know where Burch’s head or bones may be.

Homecoming button with Rex the Dog on it
Rex (the first) in button form

Almost 20 years later, the University adopted a 200-pound Great Dane named Rex as their next mascot. Lieutenant Colonel Converse K. Lewis, head of the UI Military Department, originally gifted the dog to Alpha Sigma Phi. Rex wore a tailored band uniform at football games and acted as the UI mascot until his death in 1933. Following Rex’s death, the University received another dog (either a Great Dane or St. Bernard) which they cleverly named Rex II. The University also used a real hawk as a mascot before Delta Tau Delta’s own Larry Herb donned the first Herky costume in the late 1950’s. From then on, Herky was always cast as a Delta Tau Delta until the fraternity lost their UI charter in 1998 due to drug and alcohol use. Tryouts for Herky the Hawk opened up to the entire student body of UI. In 1999, Angie Anderson and Carrie MacDonald were the first female students chosen to be the mascot. Anderson was injured while playing Herky when an Ohio State band member wielded a 3-foot foam banana at her head. She filed a lawsuit against Ohio State and in 2002, Anderson was awarded $25,000. Shortly after, Herky’s “human identity” was kept a stricter secret and security members were also hired each year, in order to keep the mascot safe.

Dean Sieperda (Delta Tau Delta) dressed as Herky
Dean Sieperda (Delta Tau Delta) dressed as Herky

As a graduate of the UI School of Library and Information Science program, I learned through this internship many things about collaboration in libraries. I was welcomed onto the Herky Birthday Committee with open arms. I formed a great partnership with the Spirit Coordinator of UI. I learned about the awesome physical education collection at the Iowa Women’s Archives. All in all, I will truly treasure my time at the Special Collections. Even the rainy days were fun!

Join us September 14th, 2018 for a special Open House to celebrate the history of Herky. Event starts at 11AM and runs till 2PM, 3rd Floor of Main Library. Herky will even be joining us for the party starting at 12PM! All are welcomed to join! 

 

Photo Credits: Burch from Press Citizen, Rex from Regalia and Artifacts Collections (RG 31.01.01), and Dean Sieperda as Herky from F.W. Kent Photograph Collection (RG30.0001.001)

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Feb 22 2018

Upcoming Events and Exhibitions

Posted on by Colleen Theisen

Events

 

World Canvass

The World Canvass program ” “Against Amnesia: Archives, Evidence, and Social Justice,” will feature Iowa Women’s Archives curator Kären M. Mason.

TONIGHT: Thursday, Feb. 22, 5:30-7:00PM

Event Calendar Listing

 

 

 

LogoArchives Crawl

Spec Collections, the University Archives, the Iowa Women’s Archives, and the Rita Benton Music Library are part of Archives Crawl.

When: Sat. Feb. 24, 11AM-3PM

Event Calendar Listing.

 

 

Against Amnesia Symposium

The following weekend there will be an “Against Amnesia” Symposium.

Event Calendar Listing.

When: March 1-3, 2018. 

 

History on Tap at Cedar Ridge Winery,

When: March 14, 5:30pm-7pm

Hear Kären Mason, curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives (at the University of Iowa Libraries) reflect on the significance of 6-on-6 high-school girls’ basketball, drawing on rich personal narratives from Iowa Women’s Archives collections. For most of the 20th century, the state of Iowa was nationally known for its devotion to a unique form of women’s sport known as 6-on-6 girls’ basketball. As other states abandoned 6-on-6, Iowa remained steadfast in its commitment until the state’s final 6-player championship in 1993, where Hubbard-Radcliffe prevailed over Atlantic, 85-66. The year 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the end of 6-on-6 girls’ basketball in Iowa.

Free to attend. Registration required.

 

 

Exhibits

 

Invisible Hawkeyes – African American pathfinders & tastemakers, 1930-1970

By looking at the University of Iowa and a smaller Midwestern college town like Iowa City, this book reveals how fraught moments of interracial collaboration, meritocratic advancement, and institutional insensitivity deepen our understanding of America’s painful conversation into a diverse republic committed to racial equality.

Daily Iowan Article.

Event Calendar Listing.

 

 

Student Selections Exhibition

An exhibition co-curated by all the student employees in Special Collections. Their work processing collections, shelving books, providing references services, and teaching in our classroom brings the most beautiful, bizarre, profound, and silly historic items to their attention and each person provided a favorite item that you’re bound to love.

Where: Special Collections on the 3rd floor of the Main Library.
When: 8:30AM-5:00P M, W-F and 8:30AM-7PM on Tuesdays.

Daily Iowan Article.

Event Calendar Listing.

bibliophiles logo
Mar 02 2017

Special Collections Open House – Exhibition Reception and Acquisitions Talk March 8th

Posted on by Colleen Theisen

Special Collections and the Iowa Bibliophiles will be hosting a reception and open house extravaganza the evening of Wednesday March 8, 2017 celebrating the arrival of the traveling exhibition Open*Set while providing an opportunity for in-depth investigation of our newest acquisitions.

 
Explore the Open*Set exhibition from the American Academy of Bookbinding, in the Special Collections gallery space while recent acquisitions from Special Collections are set up for browsing in our Reading Room.
 
Bookbinder, printer, and Open*Set judge David Esslemont will speak about the exhibition at 6:15pm.

bibliophiles logo 

Acquisitions and Collections Management Librarian Margaret Gamm will provide an in-depth recap of rare book acquisitions over the past three years at 7:00pm. Learn how the University acquires material through purchase and donation, and discover which areas have been most heavily developed, all the way from Medieval manuscripts to modern artists’ books.
 
Come for a bit or stay for all.
 
The festivities all take place in the Special Collections Reading Room on the 3rd floor of the Main Library from 5:30PM~7:45PM.
 
Refreshments will be served

Iowa Bibliophiles always meet the second Wednesday of each month.
More information and full 2016-2017 schedule: http://lib.uiowa.edu/sc/about/iabibliophiles