Exhibitions and Events of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library: Spring 2012
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Renovation of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library
In September 2010, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library began a three-phase renovation, which will create a new, dramatic special collections center on the 6th floor to serve the scholarly community and the public. The new center will include the Class of 1978 Pavilion, a lecture and event space.
Ongoing construction will necessitate service changes during the 2011–2012 academic year:
For more information |
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"Variety of the feather'd Kind": The Birds of Mark CatesbyOn exhibit Ocotber 3, 2011-February 24, 2012
Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, first floor English naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749) published a groundbreaking two-volume folio study of the flora and fauna of North America beginning in 1732. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands features stunning hand-colored illustrations noteworthy both for their subject matter and for their technique. These images document not only the various species of birds, fish, and wildlife Catesby encountered but, often, the plants or insects associated with them. On display are Penn's two editions: the first (1732-43) and the third (1771), along with full-color reproductions of approximately 40 of Catesby's bird plates. A 2012 thirteen-month wall calendar of Catesby's birds has been produced in conjunction with this exhibition and is available for purchase through the website below.
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Critical Refusals: Herbert Marcuse and Angela DavisOn exhibit October 24, 2011-February 20, 2012
First floor (next to theReference desk), Van Pelt-Dietrich Library "Herbert Marcuse taught me that it was possible to be an academic and an activist, a scholar and a revolutionary." Written as a tribute to her teacher – the famous German philosopher who was celebrated as the "Father of the New Left" – Angela Davis composed these words to inspire a new generation of critically engaged intellectuals. Critical Refusals exhibits materials which document the scholarly and activist interventions of Herbert Marcuse and Angela Davis at times of systemic crisis and radical possibility during the past several decades.
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The Midwestern Experience: Ormandy in MinneapolisOn exhibit through March 21, 2012
Eugene Ormandy Gallery, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library, 4th floor Athough Eugene Ormandy is best remembered for his forty-four-year tenure as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he was conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Ormandy worked hard to build the orchestra and improve its musicianship, and by 1936, through tours of the East and South and landmark recordings for RCA Victor, he had established an international reputation for the orchestra and positioned himself for his appointment in Philadelphia as Leopold Stokowski's successor.
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Architectures of the Text: An Inquiry Into the Hypnerotomachia PolophiliSaturday, February 11, 2012, 10:00 AM-6:30 PM
Meyerson Conference Room, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, second floor In 2011, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries acquired a second edition of Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice, 1545), often considered the most beautiful book to appear in the Italian Renaissance. In this symposium, Penn faculty and regional scholars will explore the beauty, meaning, and mysteries contained within the book's text and images. Topics to be addressed include the book's publishing history; gardens and landscape architecture; classical inscriptions and ruins; the language of the text and its sources; and the continuing influence of the Hypnerotomachia on graphic design.
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Wonders of the MicroscopeOn exhibit March 14–August 17, 2012
Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, first floor Drawing upon the collection of Karen and Howard Schwartz, this exhibition explores the revolution in observational science facilitated by the invention of the microscope in the late 1600s. It will also emphasize the many ways in which the microscope entered popular culture over the following centuries as a source of instruction and entertainment for a broad public. Displays include rare books, engravings, broadsides, colored images, and a selection from the Schwartzes' collection of antique microscopes.
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Wonders of the Microscope exhibition opening and lecture Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 5:30 PM Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, first floor Alumni Weekend Gallery Hop Friday, May 11, 2012, 4:00-6:30 PM Begins at the Arthur Ross Gallery 220 S. 34th Street, in the Fisher Fine Arts Library | |
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Holy Land on the Baltic: The Gustaf Dalman Collection in GreifswaldThursday, March 15, 2012, 5:30-6:30 PM
Class of '55 Room, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, second floor Dr. Daniel Stein Kokin (University of Greifswald, Germany) will present an illustrated lecture about the work of German Protestant theologian and scholar Gustaf Dalman (1855-1941). Dalman pioneered a massive early twentieth-century effort to collect artifacts and images relating to the Holy Land. Dr. Kokin will also discuss current efforts to catalogue and digitize the Dalman Collection.
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Sicily and its Sweets:
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A Symposium in Honor of Daniel Traister
Memory/Reason/Imagination:
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Silver Bells and Oscar Gold: Ray Evans in HollywoodOn exhibit April 11 - October 29, 2012
Eugene Ormandy Gallery, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library, fourth floor Ray Evans (W'36) was the lyricist for one of Hollywood's most successful songwriting teams in the decades following World War II. This exhibition tells the story of Evans's remarkable career in Hollywood by focusing on the seven songs nominated for an Oscar from 1945 to 1964.
Alumni Weekend Exhibition Program and Reception Friday, May 11, 2012, 4:30-6:00 PM Eugene Ormandy Gallery, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library, fourth floor |
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Bodek Lecture Series
American Pie: The Politics of Food in the 21st CenturyIn light of the increasing interest in food studies at Penn and in Philadelphia, Penn Libraries is sponsoring the Muriel Pfaelzer Bodek Public Affairs Lecture Series focusing on food policy in the 21st century. The speakers, experts in their fields, will address issues relating to global food security, sustainable agriculture, and food waste in America.
The Food Not Eaten, Jonathan Bloom Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 6:00 PM Location: Claudia Cohen Hall, G17 Auditorium, 249 S. 36th Street Global Food Security: A 21st Century Challenge, Dr. Alan M. Kelly Thursday, April 19, 2012, 6:00 PM Location: Hill Pavilion Room 130, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, 380 S. University Ave. The Future of Food: Sustainable Agriculture is not Optional, Dr. John E. Ikerd Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 6:00 PM Location: Claudia Cohen Hall, G17 Auditorium, 249 S. 36th Street |
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ALUMNI WEEKEND
Gallery HopFriday, May 11, 2012, 4:00-6:30 PM
Begins at the Arthur Ross Gallery 220 S. 34th Street, in the Fisher Fine Arts Library The Gallery Hop begins at the Arthur Ross Gallery and includes a stop at the Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, to view the exhibition Wonders of the Microscope. A curator will be at each exhibition site. The Hop concludes at the Institute of Contemporary Art with hors d'oeuvres and dessert.
Exhibition program and receptionFriday, May 11, 2012, 4:30-6:00 PM
Eugene Ormandy Gallery, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library, fourth floor Join Penn Libraries for a program and reception featuring the collection of music legend Ray Evans.
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