Tompkins County Public Library

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Birds, Beasts and Books: Animal Illustrations in Literature

Jabberwocky by Barry Moser
Many artists have set their hand to illustrating children’s books and what better way to catch a child’s attention than with fantastical birds and animals, often doing very human, ordinary things. In this exhibition we see the work of four artists: Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) with illustrations for Tom Sawyer and Life on the Mississippi; Barry Moser (born 1940) with his imaginative interpretation of Alice in Wonderland; Antonio Frasconi (born 1919) with his distinctive creatures for Aesop’s Fables; and Fritz Eichenberg’s beautifully rendered wood engravings for Edgar Allen Poe’s stories.

All encourage us to see these classic stories in new ways.

This exhibition, curated by Nancy E. Green,
The Gale and Ira Drukier Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Johnson Museum of Art, complements two shows on the Cornell University campus: Wardrobes and Rabbit Holes: A Dark History of Children’s Literature, currently on view in Kroch Library, and Beauties and Beasties in Children’s Book Illustrations which opens February 2 at the Johnson Museum of Art.

Birds, Beasts and Books is displayed in conjunction with the exhibit Animalia in Art curated by Jenny Pope and featuring the work of six local artists who feature wildlife in their art.  An opening reception is being held during Gallery Opening Night on Friday, January 4, 2013.

Friday, December 21, 2012

TCPL Presents A Year of Art for 2013

TCPL will showcase 5 major exhibits of two dimensional art as well as exhibits of three-dimensional work in our exhibit cases during 2013.

Animalia in Art curated by Jenny Pope showcases the response of local artists to the creatures that inhabit their world. Featured in the exhibit are the charcoal drawings of Margaret Reed, the photography of Dede Hatch, the drawings of Karen L. Allaben-Confer, and the printmaking works of Sylvia Taylor, Craig Mains, and Jenny Pope. 

The exhibit will be on display December 12 through March 21, 2013.  The opening reception will be held in conjunction with Gallery Opening Night on Friday, January 4 from 5 to 8 PM.

This exhibit is made possible by grant support from the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.

Birds, Beasts and Books: Animal Illustrations in Literature is curated by Nancy E. Green, The Gale and Ira Drukier Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Johnson Museum of Art.  The exhibit features wood engravings by Barry Moser for a special edition of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1982, from the collection of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, other books featuring animal illustrations, including a special edition of Alice in Wonderland and  Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There that use the original plates of the original Tenniel illustrations, an Edward Lear Nonsense Alphabet and the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

The exhibit will be on display December 28 through March 22.  It is held in conjunction with Animalia in Art at TCPL, Wardrobes and Rabbit Holes: A Dark History of Children’s Literature at the Hirshland Exhibition Gallery, Kroch Library, Cornell and Beauties and Beasties in Children’s Book Illustrations, also curated by Nancy Green, on display from February 2 in the Bowers Gallery at the Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell.

 
Hip Hop:  Unbound from the Underground – An Ithaca Community Celebration of Hip Hop Culture – April 4 – April 7


TCPL presents The Hip Hop Experience – an exhibit featuring the Art, Music and Culture of Hip Hop.  The exhibit opens at Gallery Opening Night on Friday April 5 and will be on display from March 28 to June 14 2013.  The exhibit, curated by Jason Ortero of Art and Anthropology features the original work of Jay Stooks, a compilation of Hip Hop posters and other memorabilia from sneakers to boomboxes from the collections of Stooks, Potter and Ortero, a display about the creation of Hip Hop graffiti by Jay Potter, and photographs by Hip Hop photographers Joe Conzo and Ernie Paniccioli from the Cornell University Hip Hop collection. Afrika Bambaataa, founder of Hip Hop, and both photographers will be present at Gallery Opening Night and participate in a panel discussion about the early days of Hip Hop.

This exhibit is made possible by support from the Tompkins County Tourism Program, the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County, the New York State Council for the Humanities, Cap Matches Color and Cornell University Library, Division of Rare & Manuscript Collections.

 
Visual Culture at Ithaca High School the Annual Student Art Exhibit curated by faculty member Carol Spence and other members of the Ithaca High School Art Department returns to the Library June 16 through July 16.


Grandparents – Grandchildren an exhibit in all media curated by David O. Watkins will feature portraits by participating artists of their grandchildren or their grandparents and opens at Gallery Night on Friday August 3. It will be on display July 19 through September 16.
 

Banned! Curator Suzanne Kimiko Onodera has invited artists and writers to create an artwork, poem or prose piece inspired by a banned book.  The exhibit is intended to engage visitors in a dialog about banned books in the United States.  Featured artists and writers include Ron Jude – Photographer;  Carol Clune – Visual Artist; Trisica Munroe – Poet, Visual Artist; Claire Lesseman – Visual Artist; Tim Merrick – Visual Aritst; Duffy Berkowitz – Visual Artist, Writer; Bridget Meeds – Poet; Grace Beeler – Poet, Author; Terry Plater – Visual Artist; Jane Dennis – Visual Artist; Suzanne Onodera – Visual Artist; and Werner Sun – Visual Artist. A program including discussions with and among the artists and writers is planned either at the October Gallery Opening Night or later during the course of the exhibit.  The exhibit will be on display September 20 through December 20.

These exhibits are made possible in part by grant support from the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.

 
Exhibits in the Avenue of the Friends will include:

Birds, Beasts and Books – Animal Illustrations in Literature curated by Nancy Green, The Gale and Ira Drukier Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Johnson Museum of Art, December 28 through March 22

Light in Winter – Walking Robots January 18 to March 8, featuring the walking robots of Andy Ruina, Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University.

A Barn Building Story - by Deborah Jones, date to be announced,

Willard Suitcases – an exhibit of suitcases an exhibit of suitcases found in the attic at Willard Psychiatric Center after it closed in 1995.  This emotional exhibit paints a tragic portrait or the forgotten lives of the people who lived there.  This exhibit is planned for September and October in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness week.