{"id":6473,"date":"2020-04-22T18:19:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T18:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/?p=6473"},"modified":"2023-08-06T21:42:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T21:42:53","slug":"in-the-shadow-of-covid-19-the-sackner-collection-shines-a-light-on-the-beauty-in-breathing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/2020\/04\/22\/in-the-shadow-of-covid-19-the-sackner-collection-shines-a-light-on-the-beauty-in-breathing\/","title":{"rendered":"In the shadow of Covid-19, The Sackner Collection shines a light on \u201cThe Beauty in Breathing\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following blog comes from Olson Graduate Assistant Rich Dana who interviewed Marvin Sackner on his exhibit “The Beauty in Breathing.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An exhibition of works from the newly acquired<\/span> Ruth and Marvin Sackner Collection of Visual and Concrete Poetry<\/span><\/a> at the Main Library Gallery is one of the countless art events that have been postponed due to the current global health crisis. In some respects, however, the Sackner Collection is more relevant now than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Alchemy<\/a>
Paul Laffoley, The Alchemy of Breathing,1992<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dr. Marvin Sackner is not only one of the world\u2019s foremost collectors of artwork that combines visual elements and text, but he is also an internationally respected pulmonologist. The inventor of several medical devices designed to aid oxygen flow in patients, the 88-year-old former Head of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach is keeping a close eye on the epidemic and is currently completing a paper on potential alternative treatment strategies to address the ravaging effects of COVID-19 on the human respiratory system.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ruth Laxson, Ride the Dance Down,1991<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Visual poetry is, at its most basic level, the depiction of the sounds made by the air moving from our lungs and across our vocal cords. It\u2019s not surprising then that breath is one of the common themes found in the Sackner\u2019s vast collection of artists\u2019 books, framed images, and 3D objects. In 1992, Dr. Sackner created a unique exhibition of work by an international selection of artists entitled \u201cThe Beauty in Breathing\u201d as a special event at the annual meeting of The American Lung Association & American Thoracic Society. Some of the works were already part of the Sackner\u2019s collection, but many were commissioned especially for the 3-day event.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/span>It was a scientific meeting,\u201d recalls Sackner. \u201cAnd in the middle of it, here is this exhibition. A lot of people got exposed to \u201cart and poetry\u201d for the first time. It was really great fun to observe them. A lot of doctors aren\u2019t necessarily art-inclined, but here, over a thousand people got to see this exhibit over a three-day period.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tom Phillips, Pneuma,1984<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As we come to grips with the devastating effects of COVID-19 on individual lives and on society, Dr. Sackner\u2019s life\u2019s work illustrates the importance of scientific progress and the discovery of new, life-saving treatments. His passion for art reminds us that despite hardship, we must continue to value creative expression, which is such a large part of how we process both the beautiful and terrible in the world around us.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The works included in \u201cThe Beauty in Breathing\u201d show, along with copies of the exhibit catalog, original photographs from the event, and Dr. Sackner\u2019s curatorial records are all part of his donation to the University of Iowa\u2019s Special Collections. Until visitors are once again able to visit our reading room, we will do everything we can to share these materials with the public.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following blog comes from Olson Graduate Assistant Rich Dana who interviewed Marvin Sackner on his exhibit “The Beauty in Breathing.” An exhibition of works from the newly acquired Ruth and Marvin Sackner Collection of Visual and Concrete Poetry at the Main Library Gallery is one of the countless art events that have been postponedContinue reading “In the shadow of Covid-19, The Sackner Collection shines a light on \u201cThe Beauty in Breathing\u201d”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":6475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[548,541,533,529,546],"syndication":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6473"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7586,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions\/7586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6473"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/speccoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=6473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}