The Matheson Learning Commons digital art wall is displaying the cover art of various publications from Brock University since 1964.
From these works, you can see the changing graphic art styles, how Brock promoted itself to prospective students, and special milestones in our over 50 year history.
The originals books can be found in the Brock University Archives & Special Collections located on the 10th floor of the Library.
Dare alla Luce by Professor Amy Friend of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts has arrived at a screen near you.
The Dare alla Luce series is Friend’s best known work to date. It has been exhibited internationally, travelling to over nine countries. The series is also presented in two artist monographs, Dare alla Luce (Photolucida Publishing) and Stardust (L’Artiere Edizioni). A selection of this work was included in the stage design for Canadian Jazz Musician Diana Krall’s, Turn Up the Quiet world tour.
Friend notes: “in this series I am not specifically concerned with capturing concrete reality. I aim to use photography as a medium that explores the relationship between what is visible and non-visible. I have continued to work on the Dare alla Luce series over a period of time; initially responding to a collection of vintage photographs, retrieved from a variety of sources. Through hand-manipulated interventions I alter and subsequently re-photograph the images re-making photographs that oscillate between what is present and absent. I aim to comment on the fragile quality of the photographic object but also on the fragility of our lives, our history. All are lost so easily. By employing the tools of photography, I re-use light, allowing it to shine through the holes. In a playful and yet, literal manner, I return the subjects of the photographs back to the light, while simultaneously bringing them forward. The images are permanently altered; they are lost and reborn, hence the title, Dare alla Luce, an Italian term meaning, “to bring to the light” in reference to birth.”
Curator and author Laura Serani describes the imagery in the Stardust monograph by stating, “Throngs of tiny lights with a mysterious provenance seem to emanate from the places and characters themselves, confirming the theory of what is visible and non-invisible. In daylight they penetrate the atmosphere and speak of hope; at dusk they inhabit skies where they seem to project dreams.”
Also playing: Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home, 2018-ongoing
This recent series by Assistant Professor Amy Friend explores the topic of migration. The imagery presented here combines a selection of over 300 letters written between family in Italy and Canada with photographs taken in Havana, Cuba (my husband’s homeland) at the famous Malecón. This location is steeped with an aura of hope, imagination, as well as longing and loss, that is not specific to a Cuban-only perspective. I utilize this place as a carrier of meaning, a literal and symbolic passageway, an ending point, a starting point and, a point of stasis in relation to migration. I felt it necessary to reflect on these personal histories with the aim of connecting people, to stories that relay what makes us human and alike. Some of the photos include folds that mimic those found in the letters written between family, while other folds indicate migratory map routes. The politics of migration are present in this work, through my investigations I do not resist this relationship, but rather offer a place to reflect – on the complex experience specific to these movements in life.
View this beautiful exhibit until Friday, November 15th in the Matheson Learning Commons of the James A. Gibson Library.
Digital Exhibits, display
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
On your travels across campus, take a moment or two to view Getting Graphic, the latest exhibit by University Archivist, David Sharron.
Located at the Thistle entrance to the Learning Commons, the display cases feature past logos for Brock Athletics, the University Coat of Arms, a classic ad from Time Magazine and even a nod to Star Wars!
Intrigued? Stop by the exhibit and learn the strategy behind some of the University’s most successful promotional campaigns. Getting Graphic runs to Friday, September 13.
Have you met Lynda? You should. She has a thing or two to teach you.
Brock University students, faculty and staff have unlimited access to Lynda.com which offers more than 5,000 video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts that help people learn business, technology, software and creative skills.
Here’s how to access courses of interest to you:
Go to Lynda.com
Click on the menu on the top of the screen.
Click Sign In.
Click the Sign in with your organization portal link.
Enter brocku.ca and click Continue.
Sign in with your Brock credentials. Enter your Brock username and password and click the Log in button.
display, Training & Development
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
When enjoying a glass of wine from the Niagara region, have you ever thought, how did this wine come to be? The Origins of Niagara’s Winescape exhibit features artifacts from the Brock University Archives the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute. The exhibit explores the lasting legacy of Niagara’s wineries – from the first grape growers in the 1850s to the present. The exhibit runs until the end of July in the James A. Gibson Library, and will then move to the Brock University Archives.
Archives and Special Collections, display
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
The Brock University Archives and Special Collections has again partnered with the Digital Scholarship Lab to create a digital exhibit showcasing one of their unique collections. This particular exhibit features a guided history of the life and literature of Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, which was developed by Shauna Ribaric, Digital Resource Assistant.
Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald (1857-1947) was raised in Rockwood, Ontario and was home schooled, unlike her brothers who attended Rockwood Academy, a boarding school owned and operated by their father William. Eventually Wetherald attended boarding schools in both the United States and Ontario and went on to develop a real talent for writing. She was a contributing author for The Toronto Globe, writing on a variety of topics, but was also a highly respected poet. In this exhibit, Ribaric takes a very thoughtful approach to not only providing a snapshot of Wetherald’s life, but also highlights how her life influenced her writing and displays how the subject matter of Wetherald’s writing changed over time as a reflection of the changes that took place throughout her life.
Creating a digital exhibit such as this is not a quick and easy process. Ribaric has done a remarkable job of analyzing an entire archival collection to tell one woman’s story. Ribaric explained the approach she took when developing her project: “I had scanned some material from this collection for the Digital Repository, but quickly found that an exhibit required a different perspective. I did some research using some of the books in Archives and Special Collections (included in my source list) and decided to do a chronological approach to Ethelwyn’s life. There were quite a few moments in her life that seemed to impact her writing style and I found it interesting how life influences both style and subject matter in Ethelwyn’s writing. The items I chose had to reveal more of her life story instead of just revealing items in the collection.”
This collection was brought to life using Omeka, a publishing platform for sharing digital collections, just one of many useful tools supported by the Digital Scholarship Lab. Ribaric and her colleagues in the Archives and Special Collections have spent quite a bit of time learning how to use this tool to share content: “It’s a great way to exhibit our diverse collections and shine a spotlight on important figures or events in our area. A completely different way for our users to experience our Archives. These kinds of exhibits enable us to reveal some of the interesting work happening in the Archives and Special Collections. A digital exhibit can be a great way to share a glimpse of a collection, but also link the user to a finding aid that includes so much more. Our collections also become much more accessible to the broader Niagara community who may be interested in certain historical figures/events from our area. Digital is the direction that our users are moving and I think it’s important that we keep ourselves relevant for researchers both in the Brock community and beyond. The digital repository has allowed us to connect with researchers internationally and I think Omeka will continue to support the effort to reach as many researchers as possible.”
To view the Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald Fonds or other unique collections, visit the Brock Arcvhies and Special Collections located on the 10th floor of the Schmon Tower in the James A. Gibson Library. For more information visit their website.
If you are interested in learning more about Omeka or other digital tools, please contact the Digital Scholarship Lab at dsl@brocku.ca or visit their website.
The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures has mounted a display in the Learning Commons and Thistle hallway showcasing various aspects of French, German, Hispanic & Latin American and Italian Cultures.
Come to view the intriguing assortment of items on display and win a prize by successfully answering a skill-testing question each week.
Each weekly question can be found on the MLLC website. Please send your responses to: dbielicki@brocku.ca
Event: Kaleidoscope of French, German, Hispanic & Latin American and Italian Cultures
Place: Display cases in the Library Commons and Thistle corridor
Date: Monday, March 25 to Friday, April 5
display
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
As part of African Heritage Month activities @ Brock University and Festive’Ébène, the Library is hosting an exhibit of hand-crafted ceremonial masks curated by Nafée Faigou of Solidarité des femmes et familles interconnectées francophones du Niagara (SOFIFRAN).
Nafée notes that “masks are vital to many aspects of life in Africa. They are powerful tools that Africans employ to ensure the health of their community. Various themes run through the masking traditions of African societies; they are both social and religious, with all the ramifications of both establishments. A distinction between them is hard since they overlap and intertwine. Masks are living presences that represent and mediate between the empirical and the supernatural worlds at those moments when power, protection, and the crisis of life and death are in dubious balance. Today, they still accompany everyday life in and outside of Africa.”
SOFIFRAN is a non-profit community organization created in 2006 by Francophone immigrant women – living in the Niagara region and from various parts of the world. The organization aims to meet the needs of women by providing services in the social, educational, cultural and economic fields.
Masques, Mythes et Mascarades – Masks, Myths and Masquerades is on display until March 1.
Community, display
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
Last term, we profiled a few Library staff members through our social media channels in a campaign we called #MeetTheLibraryMonday. In conjunction with the campaign, a new display features the profiles of each staff member alongside their favourite books.
Take a peak next time you are in the Library. The exhibit runs to January 28th.
display, Staff
Categories: Featured Collections, Main
The first royal visit to Canada happened in 1860 when the Prince of Wales crossed the Atlantic for a five month goodwill tour. Among the many stops was the Niagara area where the planned events either went off better than expected or were complete disasters.
View the engaging and humorous exhibit devoted to Prince Albert Edward’s visit when you next pass by the Library and Learning Commons display cases. A parallel online exhibit hosted and maintained by the Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab uses Omeka software to bring the Prince’s trip back to life some 150 years after his travels.
When the Prince of Wales came to Niagara is on display through December 21, 2018.
display
Categories: Featured Collections, Main