Hirshland Exhibition Gallery, Carl A. Kroch Library

Dawn’s Early Light: The First 50 Years of American Photography

October 20, 2011 – May 4, 2012

This exhibition will document the momentous first half-century of photography in America, from its invention in Europe in 1839 through the 1880s–a period during which American technological, commercial, and artistic competition transformed photography from an expensive and cumbersome novelty into a universal medium that allowed for a shared American experience.

Online Only

Architourism

Through a series of case studies, students in a graduate seminar in architectural history (Arch #6805, "The History Practicum") reflected upon the built environment, its construction, and mediation. They sought to unveil the means by which the viewer was conditioned to see and interpret. In the process they made visible the various cultural mechanisms that are responsible for constructing the image, myth, and meaning of individual buildings, specific sites, entire cities, and landscapes.

Coming Soon

Collecting Imagination:
Treasures from the Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination

Opens June 7, 2012

Through a remarkable array of rare books, manuscripts, and artifacts from the collection of Jay ('77) and Eileen ('76, '78) Walker, this exhibit will showcase imagination as a driving force through history and celebrate the adventure of discovery, learning, and creativity. Featuring such treasures as the crystal ball from "The Wizard of Oz" and an original Soviet Sputnik, "Collecting Imagination" marks the first time an extensive selection of objects from this unique private collection will be on public view.