Spring 2022 Exhibitions Open in Olin Library
A number of new exhibitions are on view this spring in John M. Olin Library, featuring a wide range of materials and themes. These include:
Counter/Narratives: (Re)presenting Race & Ethnicity
January 18 to July 10, 2022, Thomas Gallery
The Counter/Narrative exhibition examines the way in which objects are preserved and collected through archives, museums, and exhibitions and investigates ideas surrounding the (re)presentation of historical narratives through artwork and artifacts.
The Magic in His Hands: Charles Johnson’s Artistic Versatility
February 23 to April 3, 2022, Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Reading Room
Charles Johnson is a wildly prolific and widely acclaimed novelist, philosopher, essayist, screenwriter, cartoonist, and more. The Magic in His Hands presents selections from Johnson’s recently acquired papers that demonstrate his many facets and show how Johnson often transcends their presupposed boundaries.
The exhibition is a companion to the Center for Humanities’ March 3rd Faculty Book Celebration featuring Johnson.
Ideas, Art, and Community: My Zine Collection
February 24 to August 7, 2022, Collect O’Rama Case
Director of Development at the ACLU of Missouri Nicole Rainey has been collecting zines since the 1990s and shares a portion of them here on the Collect O’Rama table.
To read more information on Rainey’s zine collection in her own words, visit the Collect O’Rama table located on Level 2 of Olin Library in Risa’s Landing.
Bound for Beauty
March 19 to September 25, 2022, Miniature Books Case
Before publishers started mass producing books with standardized bindings, owners took their books to be bound individually, according to their own tastes and budget. Intricately cut colors of leather, gold tooling, silver, ivory, and even gemstones would adorn the covers of these highly prized books.
This exhibit explores the most beautiful books in the collections—both miniature and average size—and the decorative techniques used to produce such beauty.
Powder, Crinoline, Beasts, Gremlins: Fairytale Subjects in Illustration
April 8 to July 31, 2022, Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Reading Room
Showcased in the Powder, Crinoline, Beasts, Gremlins exhibition are several examples of fairytale illustrations from the Rare Books Collections and D.B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library, which explore how many great illustrators approached their takes on stories told over and over again.
Illustrated History: Selections from the MFA-IVC Students’ Work in Special Collections
April 23 to May 20, 2022, Kagan Grand Stair
This exhibition presents selected works from the Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and Visual Culture (MFA-IVC) students’ digital exhibitions completed as a part of their Exhibition and Engagement course this spring.
The course focuses on the planning and development of exhibitions and programs that serve as a critical form of scholarly investigation and as a vehicle for public engagement in special collections practice.
Chiura Obata, an Artist Behind Barbed Wire: 80 Years After the Incarceration
May 28 to September 4, 2022, Kagan Grand Stair
Chiura Obata (1885-1975) was a Japanese American painter known primarily for illustrating the West Coast landscape in works that embody his artistic philosophy of Great Nature.
Although limited in numbers, Washington University Libraries hold some quintessential artworks by Obata from the period of his incarceration between 1942 and 43. This exhibition showcases these works and explains the history of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.