Exhibits

Library Phantom Sculptor Returns (Edinburgh, Scotland).

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/11/29/142910393/the-library-phantom-returns

Library phantom sculptor returns to Edinburgh, Scotland's public libraries.

(I have phantom sculptor envy....)

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #166

Even though the audio of this episode has the numbering royally screwed up, an interesting look is presented. This is a how-we-did-it sort of episode. As stated in the episode itself: "Consider this a sort of medium-sized Tech for Techies that comes with a side order of curly french fries and a fountain drink."

Creative Commons License
LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #166 by The Air Staff of Erie Looking Productions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at ohio.ubuntu-us.org.

13:30 minutes (6.21 MB)
mp3
[audio-player]

Smithsonian Censors Itself at the Behest of the Government

The Smithsonian Museum has been under pressure from Catholics and congressmen to pull pieces of an exhibit focusing on homosexuality and homosexual Americans. From NPR:

At least one critic has accused the Smithsonian of caving in to pressure from Catholics and from two Republican members of Congress. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia called the exhibition "an outrageous use of taxpayer money." A spokesperson for incoming House Speaker John Boehner told The Hill newspaper that "Smithsonian officials should either acknowledge the mistake or be prepared to face tough scrutiny beginning in January."

More from NPR.

Out of Many, One. Exhibit on the Religions of Abraham at the NYPL

The sweep of the new exhibition at the New York Public Library — “Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam” — is stunning. It encompasses both an elaborately decorated book of 20th-century Coptic Christian readings and a modest 19th-century printing of the Gospels in the African language Grebo. There are Korans, with pages that shimmer with gold leaf and elegant calligraphy, and a 13th-century Pentateuch from Jerusalem, written in script used by Samaritans who traced their origins to the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel.

The library’s Gutenberg Bible is here, as well as its 1611 King James translation. The first Koran published in English is shown, from 1649, along with fantastical images from 16th-century Turkish and Persian manuscripts in which Muhammad is pictured with other prophets, his face a blank white space in obeisance to the prohibition against his portrait.

Out of many, one. That could well be the motto of this ambitious exhibition. It focuses on “the three Abrahamic religions” — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One of the main sponsors of “Three Faiths,” is the Coexist Foundation, whose aim is “to promote better understanding between Jews, Christians and Muslims.” (The other main donor is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.) The display is on view through Feb. 27 at the New York Public Library.

Zappa -- "If You Want to Learn, Go To a Library"

from the Baltimore Sun: Live near Baltimore and looking for something to do on Sunday? Get thee to the library...

Two years after Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, donated a $50,000 bust of Baltimore-born rocker Frank Zappa, the art will be installed Sunday at the Southeast Anchor Library during a daylong celebration. The audience, which organizers expect to number in the thousands, will include Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Zappa's widow, Gail, and one of his sons, Dweezil, who'll be performing with his tribute band, Zappa Plays Zappa. Rawlings-Blake will designate Sunday as Zappa Day, Gail Zappa will host a Q&A and the Creative Alliance at the Patterson will throw an afterparty.

When asked where the bust should be placed, Gail Zappa said she picked a library because her husband was a self-taught man who loved libraries.

"He always said, 'If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want to learn, go to a library,'" she said.

Baltimore Will Celebrate Native Son Zappa This Fall

A weekend-long celebration featuring live music, a symposium and art exhibit will celebrate the dedication of the Frank Zappa statue in Baltimore, organizers said. A bust of Zappa, a Baltimore native, was a gift from a Lithuanian fan club. After much deliberation, the city decided to place it in Highlandtown, outside the library. His wife said Zappa would have liked the location, because his mother, Rose Marie, was a librarian.

Zappa Plays Zappa, a tribute act fronted by Zappa's son Dweezil, will perform; Zappa's widow, Gail, will give a symposium; and the Southeast Anchor Library will launch an exhibit in conjunction with the Sept. 19 statue dedication, according to producer Sean Brescia.

"It's going to make it what it should be," Brescia said. "It's going to be a cool tribute weekend." Baltimore Sun.

Charles Dickens Library Exhibit & Discovery Of 2 previously unknown letters from him

Slumming With Charles Dickens: New York Library Relives His American Tours
snippet: "The staging of Dickens In America led to the discovery of two heretofore unknown personal letters written by Dickens to John Bigelow in the 1860's."

Book Art Exhibit at Washington & Lee

"Beyond Text and Image: The Book as Art" opens on Thursday, Feb. 25, in Staniar Gallery, Wilson Hall, at Washington and Lee in Lexington, VA. Curated by W&L humanities librarian Yolanda Merrill, the exhibition showcases 30 works by nationally known book artists.

Merrill will give a curator's talk and slideshow on Wednesday, March 3, at 6 p.m. in the Concert Hall facing the Gallery. The lecture will be followed by a reception in Lykes Atrium, adjacent to the Gallery. The exhibit, curator's talk and reception are free and open to the public.

Merrill herself has many years of experience as a bookbinder and bookmaker, and has co-taught a course in the book arts at Washington and Lee. A selection of the student work made in the course is on display in the Lykes Atrium.

The focus of the exhibit is on sculptural books. However, there will also be photographs and other two-dimensional works in the show. Washington & Lee.

National Library of Ireland William Butler Yeats Exhibition

Enter exhibition here. Enjoy the elaborate virtual reality exhibition, and follow Yeats development as a poet, a playwright and writer of prose. The National Library of Ireland has the largest collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world, many contributed over the years by his widow and by his son.

Morristown NJ Library Explores the Real Santa

Whether you've been naughty or nice...this might be your opportunity to (virtually) meet the man of the moment, Santa Claus, in some of his many incarnations.

Clement Moore (A Visit from St. Nicholas) gets the credit. But Washington Irving wrote about a sleigh-riding, gift-giving St. Nick a year earlier, in 1821.

That's one of the fun factoids in the Santa exhibit at the F.M. Kirby Gallery in the Morristown/Township Library. The display includes patriotic, carved Uncle Sam/Santa figurines from the 400-piece collection of former Morristown resident Terese Rolio McCann.

More from NJ.com.

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