Special Collections Exhibitions

Thrill Seekers: The Rise of Men's Magazines

An exhibition titled Thrill Seekers: The Rise of Men's Magazines opened Thursday, October 4, on Level 1 of Olin Library, in the Grand Staircase Lobby and Ginkgo Reading Room. The display, presented by Washington University's Modern Graphic History Library, charts the growth of men's magazines from the 1940s to the 1960s. Highlights include original artwork, tear sheets, and whole issues of Esquire, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune, as well as pulp fiction and girlie magazines. Artists featured include  Al Parker, Robert Weaver, Ernest Trova, and Robert Andrew Parker, among  others.

Thrill Seekers will remain on display until January 4, 2013. A digital version of the  exhibit is available at http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/mensmags/home.

Remembering 9/11: An Exhibit

On Sept. 11, 2012 at 4 PM, American Culture Studies and Washington University Libraries will host an opening for "Remembering 9/11: An Exhibit" at Washington University's Olin Library in Room 142. Dr. Wayne Fields, Lynne Cooper Harvey Distinguished Professor of English, American Literature, and American Culture Studies will make opening remarks and introduce the exhibit. Following the
remarks a reception and exhibit viewing will take place in Washington University's Olin Library on Level 1.

The physical exhibit features a few items from University Archives and material collected for "Remembering 9/11," a cultural archives project exploring 9/11 memory at the university and in the
culture as a whole. The project was launched by American Culture Studies on the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, and is an ongoing effort to collect artifacts that reveal 9/11's impact both then and now, including interviews, written reflections, speeches, oral histories, and original works of art.

For more about the project, including information about how to get involved, please visit http://remembering911.wustl.edu

Exhibit on display August 27 - September 30, 2012 in Olin Library's Ginkgo Reading Room & Grand Staircase Lobby.

The Dana Brown Collection: An Exhibit

June-August 2012

An exhibit introducing the recently acquired Dana Brown Collection is now on view at the Film and Media Archive. A small collection of items can be viewed at the Film and Media Archive from June - August 2012. The Archive is open Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 5:00. For more information, please contact us.

Dana Brown was born in West Virginia in 1905. The eleventh of twelve children, Brown left home as a teenager and traveled across America working a variety of jobs, many of them involving manual labor on the railroad, or as a ranch hand, before eventually finding work as a Fuller Brush salesman. By 1946 he was living in St. Louis and working for the General Grocer Co. In 1950 Manhattan Coffee was established as a division of General Grocer and Dana Brown became linked with the product that would help earn his fortune. From the 1950s on he went on a series of journeys and safaris and began documenting his trips with film and audio recordings.

From 1954 to 1990, he went on over 35 trips, and his destinations included the Belgian Congo, Nepal, Sumatra, India, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Vietnam, and many other places. As time went on, he incorporated the footage and audio he captured into commercials and nature films that gave viewers a glimpse of amazing landscapes and animals, and almost always ended with a mention of
Safari coffee. Brown eventually left Manhattan Coffee, which had been bought by Nestle, to start his own coffee company and continued to sell Safari coffee. Brown's entrepreneurial success enabled his philanthropy and he gave a $10,000 gift to Children's Hospital in St. Louis in 1985. The trust he established continues to pursue charitable works.

The Dana Brown Collection contains original film and audio material, scripts, and correspondence, including Dana Brown's letters to editors of various publications. Researchers will find a rich source of material in this collection about the cultural history of the mid-to-late twentieth century as well as an environmental record of natural areas throughout Africa and Asia.

Full Disclosure: A Documentary By Brian Palmer

October 12-December, 2011

An exhibition of Palmer's photography and journal excerpts will be featured in the Grand Staircase Lobby in Olin Library. Also on display will be war-related materials from the Libraries' Department of Special Collections.

The film, shot by Palmer during his time as an embedded journalist with a U.S. Marine combat unit in Iraq, concentrates on the daily activities of the American troops and the effects on the troops themselves as well as Iraqi civilians. Palmer made his first trip to Iraq as journalist and photographer in 2004. Armed only with a pen and a camera, he felt that his essays and photographs did not sufficiently capture the experience. So when he returned in 2005 and 2006, he brought a video camera. "I tried to probe deeper into the stories of the Marines and the Iraqi men and women I met," Palmer says. The film also explores the filmmaker's conflicting role as an impartial journalist
sometimes mistaken for a Marine. "My presence affected everyone's behavior. Although I didn't carry a gun, I looked intimidating in my black helmet, desert camouflage bulletproof vest, and combat boots," he says. "Small children cried and ran away if I came too close."

Palmer has written for Mother Jones, The Huffington Post, Pixel Press.org, and ColorLines, among others, and produced video projects for various outlets including PBS and MTV. He is a Fellow at NYU's
Center on Law and Security and the recipient of a Nation Institute grant for reporting in Bangladesh in 2010. Palmer received a Ford Foundation Knowledge, Creativity, and Freedom grant in 2008 to complete Full Disclosure. He is an instructor at The School of Visual Arts in New York City and an adjunct instructor at Baruch College, City University of New York.

Drawing Lines: Robert Weaver's Innovative Illustration

"In recording the literal image as it already appears in life, what line can you draw between art and illustration?" -Robert Weaver in Esquire, December 1956

In the 1960s, advertisers began to abandon traditional magazines for the allure of television. As a result, illustration experienced a decrease in popularity. In an effort to compete, illustrators were encouraged to become more original and avant-garde in their styles.

  Often referred to as the "godfather of the new illustration," Robert Weaver was among the few   illustrators who continued to innovate throughout this challenging decade. Weaver developed a new approach to visual storytelling that both conveyed information and evoked emotion. Prior to his influence, illustrators were known for using traditional techniques. In contrast, Weaver's visionary style more resembled the expressionist manner of contemporary fine artists.

In addition to his progressive style, Weaver’s work reflects a social awareness lacking in the idealized scenes of earlier popular illustration.  His work depicts the changing social and political climate of the 1960s, explicitly portraying poverty, crime, activism, race, and youth culture.

The original artwork and tear sheets featured in this exhibition not only highlight Weaver’s unique style and social consciousness, but also represent his significant impact on this pivotal period in illustration history.

Visitors to Olin Library this summer can view Weaver’s work on  display in the Ginkgo Reading Room and Grand Staircase Lobby starting  Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Titled “Drawing Lines: Robert Weaver’s Innovative Illustration,” the exhibition showcases the Robert Weaver collection held by Washington University’s Modern Graphic History Library. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Language, Signs, Meaning, Application: The Philip Mills Arnold Semeiology Collection

October 25, 2010 -- May 27, 2011
Ginkgo Reading Room & Grand Staircase Lobby

The Philip Mills Arnold Semeiology Collection contains some 2,300 items on cryptography, the decipherment of ancient languages, languages for the blind and deaf, memory and mnemonics, the philosophy of language, the history of writing, signs and symbols, and more. Mr. Arnold was a chemical engineer educated at Washington University.

The Washington University Libraries invite you to two presentations on current computer-assisted scholarship in the humanities:

Literary Studies in the Age of Data
Matthew Wilkens, Postdoctoral Fellow, American Culture Studies Program
An introduction to the data-driven techniques that are currently transforming scholarship in the
humanities. Examples include text mining, geolocation, data visualization, and network analysis.

From Physical Language to Physical Action: Using Acting Techniques to Improve Human/Robot Interaction
Annamaria Pileggi, Senior Lecturer, Performing Arts Department
This talk will present ongoing research in which actor training techniques are applied to robots in
interaction with humans, featuring a short video of a performance piece performed by robotic and human actors.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
4:00 pm
Ginkgo Room, Olin Library, Level 1
Reception to follow

This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition Language, Signs, Meanings, Applications: the Philip Mills Arnold Semeiology Collection, on view in Olin Library through May 27, 2011. The exhibition features the Philip Mills Arnold Semeiology Collection, which contains some 2,300 items on cryptography, the decipherment of ancient languages, languages for the blind and deaf, memory and mnemonics, the philosophy of language, the history of writing, signs and symbols, and more.

An exhibition catalog will be available, free of charge, at the event. You may also download a PDF version of the catalog at: http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/rarebooks/publications.html.

Gallery Talks: March 1 and March 4

To learn more about Arnold, a chemical engineer educated at WUSTL, and his remarkable collection, join an informal gallery tour led by Erin K. Davis, curator of rare books at Olin Library, at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, or 4 p.m. Friday, March 4.

Mary Wickes, the Libraries' Leading Lady

A new exhibit in the display cases of the Olin Library lobby highlights the life and career of Washington University alumna, film star, and philanthropist Mary Wickes.

Wickes, a well-known actress, graduated from the University with a B.A. in political science in 1930. A supreme comedienne rather than a leading lady, she used her distinctive voice and wise-cracking wit to create memorable supporting characters. She appeared in stage productions, movie roles, and television roles. Throughout her remarkable career, Mary Wickes never forgot Washington University. 

Upon Wickes's death in 1995, the Libraries received a $2 million bequest for an endowment named in honor of her parents, Isabella and Frank Wickenhauser. The Wickenhauser endowment supports library acquisitions for television, film, and theater arts. With income from Wickes's bequest, the Libraries have purchased more than 10,000 books, journals, databases, and 16mm and 35mm film prints and DVDs.

In addition to her endowment, Mary Wickes left the University her papers and memorabilia, now located in the University Archives at the West Campus Library.

The exhibit is on display in the lobby of Olin Library from June 2 through mid-July.

Celebrating Women at Washington University

The achievements of women have marked every aspect of Washington University history, in its excellence of teaching, in the depth of its research, and in the lives of so many students.

A new exhibit in Olin Library's Ginkgo Reading Room and Grand Staircase Lobby highlights the accomplishments and contributions of women at Washington University and celebrates the Centennial Anniversary of the Woman's Club. The exhibit is a collaboration between University Archives and The Woman's Club of Washington University.

The exhibition runs April 7 - June 11, 2010.

To view an online version of the exhibit, go to http://uaexhibits.omeka.net/exhibits/show/celebrating-women-washington/overview

Contemporary German Literature

Here's something you probably didn't know: Olin Library has one of the largest collections of contemporary German literature in the world, and certainly the largest in the United States.

The collection is the result of a long-standing partnership between the Libraries and the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. Highlighting that partnership is a new exhibit on display now through the end of March in Olin Library's Ginkgo Reading Room and Grand Staircase Lobby. The exhibit coincides with the upcoming Washington University Symposium on German Literature and Culture, taking place March 26-28, 2010.

The exhibit traces the history of the Contemporary German Literature Collection and the creation of the Max Kade Center for Contemporary German Literature here at Washington University. Sample books from the collection, excerpts, and photographs of Max Kade authors and critics in residence are also on display.

America at the Racial Crossroads, 1965-mid 1980's

January 22 - March 31, 2008