Department of Art History

The Visual Resources Center is pleased to announce several new collections in the LUNA database, the main database for art images for teaching and research at UChicago. In recent years the VRC has focused on expanding the documentation of art exhibitions, spaces, events, and collections on campus. These new collections are the fruit of numerous collaborations with campus colleagues including faculty, staff, and students, and the VRC is grateful to make these materials available via the LUNA database for teaching and research:
 

Joel Snyder Materials Collection

The Joel Snyder Materials Collection intends to make art historical objects, materials, and tools available for instructor and student handling. A two-year project beginning in 2018, the Joel Snyder Materials Collection is being developed in consultation with instructors' teaching needs. To reserve materials for a class session, please write to visualresources@uchicago.edu. To request the purchase of materials, please write to bridgetm@uchicago.edu. The collection is available to CNetID users at https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/luna/servlet/UCHICAGO~14~14

North Korean Stamp Collection

The images in the North Korean Stamp Collection provide a valuable window into shifting politics and culture of North Korea and a different perspective of the nation’s historical place in the modern world. The Collection serves as a well-curated primary resource for scholars to expand Korean studies in the philatelic realm. The Collection is composed of about 2,000 images from 20 stamp books and 30 individual sheets. The dates of origin span over several decades (1962 to 2017) and a striking variety of subject areas. These subjects include: National figures and symbols, Military, Worker’s Party of Korea, Tourist sites, National heritage and Folklore, Traditional and European Art, Animals and Plants. For those with additional questions about the Collection, or who would like to view the physical stamp books, please contact Jee-Young Park, Korean Studies Librarian. A selection of stamps from the collection will be on display in the exhibit “Understanding North Korean through Stamps,” at the Joseph Regenstein Library, Fifth Floor, from September 23–December 23, 2019.  Special thanks to Korea Foundation Visiting Librarian Intern Jisu Yeom and EALC graduate student Ethan Waddell for their in-depth metadata work with this project. This collection is publicly accessible: https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/north-korean-stamp-collection

Logan Center Exhibitions Archive

This collection contains an archive of installation photographs from the Logan Center Exhibitions program. Logan Center Exhibitions presents international contemporary art programming at the Logan Center Gallery and throughout the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. Reflecting the spirit of inquiry at the University, Logan Center Exhibitions focuses on open, collaborative, and process-based approaches to cultural production. This collaboration was made possible with the assistance of the Logan Exhibitions Staff. Special thanks to Alyssa Brubaker and Sanaa Imami. Accessible to the public at https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/logan-center-exhibitions-archive

Open Practice Committee Archive

The VRC recently collaborated with the Open Practice Committee in the Department of Visual Arts to create the Open Practice Committee Archive, which features a selection of artists’ and arts professionals’ lectures on a variety of topics. The OPC explores the atmospheres and attitudes that make art contemporary. OPC’s programming fosters a genuinely experimental, yet conceptually rigorous environmental space in which strategies of production and description are challenged and renewed. From the conventional departmental presentation to the unconventional institutional event, the Open Practice Committee aims to advance our collective understanding of theory and practice within the visual arts. Special thanks to Zespo Velazquez and the DOVA and OPC staff who assisted with this project.  The archive is accessible to CNetID users: https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/luna/servlet/UCHICAGO~7~7

Smart Museum Exhibitions Archive

The VRC is excited to announce a new collaborative collection in our LUNA database featuring materials from the Smart Museum’s exhibition files. This collection features installation photographs from the inaugural exhibition in 1974, The Department of Visual Art’s MFA shows from the 1980s and 1990s, and a wealth of archival material pertaining to the exhibits, including didactics, marketing materials, checklists, and more. Additionally, the collection includes artist installations and spatial interventions throughout the years. Special thanks to Sara Hindmarch and Smart Museum colleagues. This project was managed by Carolyn Hammond, Digital Collections Intern at Smart Museum. The Digital Collections Internship was supported by the Office of Career Advancement, UChicago Careers in Journalism, Arts, and Media. Learn more about her experience in her post, “A Deep Dive Into the Archive,” on the Smart’s blog. The LUNA collection is available to CNetID users: https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/luna/servlet/UCHICAGO~16~16
 

UChicago Campus Architecture Collection

From the first campus plan to the most recent contemporary tower, the architecture at the University of Chicago has been conceived by some of the most forward-thinking and well-respected designers in the world. The campus features the work of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Ives Cobb, Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Netsch, Ricardo Legorreta, Rafael Viñoly, César Pelli, Helmut Jahn, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, and Holabird, Root and Burgee. This LUNA collection contains images of campus architecture and archival photographs and documents from various sources and repositories. Created in collaboration with Katherine Taylor for her campus architecture courses. Accessible to CNetID users at https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/luna/servlet/UCHICAGO~11~11

University of Chicago Civic Engagement Public Art

The University of Chicago is deeply committed to being a catalyst for strong South Side neighborhoods. Toward that end, the University has deepened engagement in the arts, both on campus and in local communities over the last several years. This includes development of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Woodlawn, a wide variety of community programming at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park, and support for the creation and restoration of public art that seeks to catalyze neighborhood revitalization, resilience, and involvement. This collection contains images and ephemera documenting the Office of Civic Engagement's public art engagement. Special thanks to collaborator Nika Levando. The collection is publicly accessible at https://luna.lib.uchicago.edu/luna/servlet/UCHICAGO~12~12