Monday, February 28, 2011

Emily Pope, photography major, recommends.....

For the second of the Library’s changing displays of materials relating to MCAD’s majors, Emily Pope, Photography, has made selections that inspire her investigations in the major.  Below are her comments about what she has chosen.


Stop by the Library, have a look for yourself, and check these things out!

Emily Pope
The books I chose for the display of library material relating to my major are a mix of photographic works well known by those in the major, and a few personal favorites.  All of them show an amazing sense of beauty, composition, and subject matter that immortalized the changing moments of their time.


One of my favorite books is Brassaï’s Paris By Night - a beautiful collection that captures the nightlife of 1930’s Paris through striking cityscapes and an array of impromptu portraits. Not only are the photographs themselves gorgeous, but the format of the book is striking in itself.


Another must read is Sze Tsung Leong’s History Images. Leong captures images of traditional cities and buildings overcome by urbanization and construction – and in doing so depicts history in the midst of disappearing. His images capture a crossing point between two realities - the soon forgotten stories and lives of the past, and those that have yet to unfold in the near and ongoing future.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fine Arts Studio major Maura Doyle recommends these library resources

As part of the Library’s changing displays of materials relating to MCAD’s majors, Maura Doyle, Fine Arts Studio, has made the latest selections.  Maura also has written a thoughtful essay about the items she chose.  Read what she has to say, stop by the Library, & check these things out!


Maura Doyle




As a senior in the Fine Arts Studio program, I work fluidly between a variety of mediums including performance, installation, video, sculpture, photography and painting.  Beyond learning technical skills across these mediums, being a part of the Fine Arts Studio major has pushed me to evaluate my work in relation to the dialogue of contemporary art.  I think that the majority of students within this major have a desire to approach their studio practice holistically, without worrying about defining the process of making but rather the context that they are operating in.  As a result, the work created by my peers in Fine Arts Studio ranges from experimental audio, video, and site-specific installations to performances, collage, sculpture and beyond.



The books I chose for the Library's Fine Arts Studio display reflect both my personal research as well as those artists that I know others in my major are looking at.  I think that the breadth of books shown is an accurate representation of the wide array of investigations happening throughout the studios of the students in the major.  An important part of my own research involves looking back to artists from previous eras, while at the same time keeping up to date on the contemporary art scene in the States and abroad.  The books Young British Art and Ice Cream: Contemporary Art in Culture have been influential to this part of my study.


A few books that I find myself returning to time and again include Joan  Simon's Ann Hamilton, The Walker's catalog, The Quick and the Dead, and  Joseph Beuys:  actions, vitrines, environments.  Besides looking at the work of fellow  artists, a vital part of my practice and that of many of my peers in Fine  Arts Studio is engaging with the theory and philosophy surrounding our  work.  I have found the entire series of Documents in Contemporary Art to be an  easily accessible and comprehensive resource for this sort of critical  investigation.


Another all-time favorite read is The Spell of the  Sensuous by David Abrams, which I would highly recommend to anybody  looking to explore the poetics of the body's sensory experiences in the  world.  My last recommendation is the recently published biography When  Marina Abramovic Dies, which offers an unprecedented view into her personal life, early work, and collaborations.  

Maura Kelly Doyle













Tuesday, February 8, 2011

New display at the Circulation Desk for February: Painters Painting


Cover detail from the book: Imaginary Portraits of George Condo

Painting is dead!
What, again?
This alarm goes off periodically, but painting either bounces back,
or may never have been as lifeless as characterized.
Considering that painting has been around about 30,000 years,
and survived many transformations, including all the isms of
modern times, its staying power shouldn't surprise us.
It's still painters painting!
On display is a small selection of books on artists
who just that: paint!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Evolution of our Darwin specimens





To support the Reading and Writing 2 classes, we are continuing to add new material to our collection on Charles Darwin and associated topics: evolution, natural selection, Victorian culture, etc., etc. (see a sample at the bottom).  Highlights include: 

Materials on Course Reserve for you to use in your course work and research.  Of course, we have a copy of your required texts, but we have materials covering the science behind the theory of evolution, the debate and future of evolution, and the art resulting from Darwin's explorations and its impact.  You might like Charles Darwin and Victorian Visual Culture, or Species: A History of the Idea, or my favoriteDry storeroom no. 1 : the secret life of the Natural History Museum.  Find the complete list here.


We added some ebooks on Darwin and evolution.  They are are linked in our catalog and available on and off campus and are "checked out" to you as long as your browser window is open.  Find the complete list at here.


Also, you may find it handy to listen to a book.  We just added The Voyage of the Beagle read by Richard Dawkins to our audio book collection.  You can also find audio versions of On the Origin of Species on LibriVox, a website that provides free access to audiobooks from the public domain.


Amy Naughton, Public Services Librarian











The Age of Wonder : How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes.  Q127.G4 H65 2008
Bioethics and the New Embryology : Springboards for Debate by Scott F. Gilbert. RG133.5 .G55 2005
Biology : life on Earth. 9th ed. by Teresa Audesirk . QH308.2 .A93 2011
Environmental Anthropology: From Pigs to Policies by Patricia K. Townsend. QH541 .T68 2009
A Fish Caught in Time : the Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg. QL638.L26 W45 2001 
Genes and DNA : a Beginner's Guide to Genetics and Its Applications by Charlotte K. Omoto. QH430 .O47 2004
Mapping the World : Stories of Geography by Caroline Laffon. GA201 .L33 2009
Screening the Body : Tracing Medicine's Visual Culture by Lisa Cartwright. R835 .C37 1995
The Selfish Gene. 30th anniversary ed. by Richard Dawkins . QH437 .D38 2006
Strange Maps : an Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities. by Frank Jacobs.  GA201 .J33 2009
The Third Chimpanzee : the Evolution and Future of the Human Anomaly by Jared M. Diamond.  GN281 .D53 2006