Category: Exhibitions

“Boys of Summer” The Great American Pastime & University Libraries

In the heart of the Summertime Athletics Calendar there is nothing like the sport of Baseball when it comes to both line drives and literary parallels. The University Libraries recognizes this attractive twin bill, offering action-packed experiences that live on in both memory and verse.

With this in mind, the University Libraries is proudly sponsoring an exhibit from June-September which celebrates the grand game of Baseball and its textual history. The curator of this display is Professor Gerry Shea, a lifelong fan of the game and an ardent New York Yankees fan who has a timely perspective on what Baseball means to the University Community and beyond . . .

“With summer right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to celebrate America’s pastime. We’ve put together a display of outstanding baseball books from our collection—something for every fan! You’ll find titles on the history of the game, cutting-edge analytics, inspiring biographies of legendary players, and even picture books for young readers.”

The work of Professor Shea will undoubtedly help to inspire and promote the reading of Baseball-themed works during the vacation months through the Fall Classic and moving forward in time.

Within the University Libraries Catalog, here are some leads that show various titles that are found on the shelves of our Walsh Library to compliment individual works found attached to the display over the next few months . . .

Baseball – SHU Book Collection

Baseball – SHU Search

Baseball & Sports History (Research Guide)

For additional information please feel free to contact us via e-mail via the University Libraries Homepage.

Outdoor Aesthetics in Abundance – Agriculture, Gardening, Nature, and Related Resources

The Spring and Summer seasons are noted for warmth and visual wonder around us. With this in eye and mind, the University Libraries houses several book titles related to the time of year when natural wonders are evident not only on campus but destinations that our students and faculty will encounter near and far.

Texts found in this display provide both an introductory and advanced look at various aspects of our very own Garden State over the years but also celebrating the history of other places where flora is in full bloom.

Various titles can be found in the collection including the following examples found in our Book Catalog.

We will also feature a display of specialized titles (that can also be checked out!) from our collection that can be found on the second floor of Walsh Library from May through August.

For additional information please feel free to contact us via e-mail via the University Libraries Homep age .

 

Banned & Censored Artists – An Exhibit

By Guest Author, Mairin Plant

As with books and other text-based materials, visual art has long been a popular target for censorship. Historically, both private groups and public leaders have leveraged their power to ban works of art from public view, alter their contents, or brand them as somehow harmful to spectators for political, social or religious reasons.

Some acts of censorship are directed at individual artworks by otherwise renowned artists. Michelangelo, to name one famous example, grappled with heavy restrictions and post hoc alterations while painting the Sistine Chapel, which inspired him to paint himself into the Last Judgement as St. Bartholomew’s flayed skin. Artists such as Franscisco de Goya, Gustav Klimt, and Pablo Picasso also encountered proscriptions during their careers and after their deaths.

Other censorship campaigns involve the elision of certain viewpoints altogether. In the 20th century, prohibition of abstract, expressionistic, or otherwise experimental art in favor of realistic painting and sculpture emerged as a prominent form of social control in the authoritarian regimes of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Each of these regimes framed nonrepresentational art as a corrupting influence over the public and offensive to the presumed sensibilities of model citizens. The Nazi party specifically pointed to modernist art as evidence of a Jewish assault on German values.

In the 21st century, bans and censorship still proliferate. David Wojnarowicz, an artist who initially faced suppression in the 1980s when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) opted to pull funding from an exhibition focused on the ongoing AIDS epidemic, more recently censored when Smithsonian opted to remove several minutes of footage from a film installation in 2010—nearly 2 decades after the artist’s passing.

While art censorship can take on many different forms, discrete instances share themes. Art censorship is inherently elitest: it betrays a lack trust in the public to be able to contend with works of art responsibly or correctly on the part of authorities who seek to restrict what people are allowed to see and absorb.

Explore SHU Libraries through books on banned and censored artists on the second floor of the Walsh Library to learn more!

We welcome you to our information center in the near future, but in the meantime if you need detailed help through the University Libraries. You can book a research appointment here: Research Appointment Site.

African American Catholic Exhibit & University Libraries

November is African American (Black) Catholic Month. In honor of this commemoration, the University Libraries has proudly created an exhibit featuring books, publication covers, and related materials in homage to the faithful.

In combination with the exhibit and an Introduction to Informational Resources on African American Catholicism, the University Libraries offers our research community print sources including starter sources that can be referred to via: African American Catholic Book Titles and African American Catholic Information Sources (SHU Search).

The display is situated on the second floor of Walsh Library. The exhibit will be available through of the semester.

For more information please visit and/or book a research appointment here.

Self–Care Awareness Month & University Libraries

September has been designated as a month where we are encouraged to pause and take time for ourselves, but this is a message that remains strong throughout the entire year.

According to the World Health Organization: “Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability . . . Self-care recognizes individuals as active agents in managing their own health care, in areas including health promotion; disease prevention and control; self-medication; providing care to dependent persons, and rehabilitation, including palliative care.” We are glad to offer our University Community various information resources on a wide range of health care issues via this exhibit and within our research collection.

Located on the second floor of Walsh Library this exhibit will provide a helpful gateway to print and electronic resources related to self-care in all its varied and important forms.

  • This is a collaborative effort including Professor Julianna Murray, Assistant Dean Lisa DeLuca, and Professor David Frank.

We welcome you to our information center in the near future, but in the meantime if you need detailed help through the University Libraries. You can book a research appointment here: Research Appointment Site.

CommArts 16th Annual Student Art & Design Exhibition

Every year the Walsh Gallery hosts CommArts’ Annual Student Art & Design Exhibition. This year, despite the closure of the gallery due to COVID-19, we still want to honor the work of our students, especially some selections from students of the graduating class of 2020.

View the full digital exhibition at the_space.

Jonathan Petiote (SHU 2020)
Bioluminescent Jellyfish
Class: Drawing As Design
Professor Kolankowski
This project was to use Prismacolor colored pencils and create a luminescent bright colored environment in black paper. My focus was to have a setting of sea creatures such as jellyfish.Jellyfish are the types of sea life that makes colorful lights at the ocean.

Andrew Cates (SHU 2020)
Design Practicum
Professor Krus
This self-portrait series stemmed out of frustration with not being able to have a traditional graduation in May. I wanted to try and capture some of the emotion that myself and some other graduates would be feeling, and also show what a graduation would look like if it did happen right now. I hope I’ve showed some of the longing our graduating class feels for the reward of hearing your named called and walking across the stage with my current events take on the classic graduation portrait.

Claire Evans (SHU 2020)
Cooped Up
Social Impact Design
Professor Lhowe
Cooped up is a project visually and interactively communicating the plight of industrially farmed chickens. The aim is to bring the audience face to face with uncomfortable truths, inspire action, and promote awareness.

Luis Barreiros (SHU 2020)
Light in a Bottle
Design Practicum
Professor Krus
In this assignment I was tasked with making a design of anything I wanted while 3D modeling and render it with an animation. For this I chose to model a particle effect going into a bottle, once the light effect from the particles I was creating reached the bottle I made it so that it would “over flow” increasing the light intensity and basically “burn” the screen to end the animation.

Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution

#SHU_Libraries and Seton Hall University are organizing a series of events to mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Please visit the Velvet Revolution Online Exhibition Space for more information https://library.shu.edu/velvet-rev

~ All events are free and open to the public ~

Thursday, February 13th , 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Walsh Library | Ground Floor | Beck Rooms

Thursday, February 27th , 1 to 1:45 p.m.
Corrigan Hall 75

  • Dr. Dena Levine and sophomore Abigail Pierre, in a performance of piano works by Czech composers:

1. Six Piano Pieces, Opus 7, No. 4 (Idyll II) by Josef Suk (1874-1935)
2. From “On an Overgrown Path, Book II”: Andante by Leoš Janáček (1815-1866)
3. Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 8 in A-flat Major for four hands by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

Followed by a wrap-up conversation.
Bring your own lunch. Beverages will be provided.

Thursday, February 27th , 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Walsh Library | Ground Floor | Beck Rooms

This series of events has been made possible through the support by the University Libraries, the School of the Communications and the Arts, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History, the Russian and East European Studies Program, and the Slavic Club.

Please visit the Velvet Revolution Online Exhibition Space for more information https://library.shu.edu/velvet-rev

Solo Exhibition in Walsh Gallery

GREGORY COATES: SHEER AUDACITY
January 13 – March 6, 2020
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 30th (5pm to 8pm)

#WalshGallery is please to present Gregory Coates: Sheer Audacity, a solo exhibition of recent work by the internationally renowned artist.

A social abstractionist, Coates uses ordinary objects such as feathers, handbags, curtains and shipping pallets to weave stories about his experiences while simultaneously rousing personal associations for viewers with his chosen subjects and materials.  Using art as a catalyst, Coates lures audiences into open-ended conversations to address varying societal concerns.  Audiences are disarmed by Coates’ use of textures, saturated colors and familiar objects that enables them to participate in a politically conscious dialogue that prioritizes their point of view.  Gregory Coates created new work for this exhibition in an homage to the women in his life, and the strength they embody.

The exhibition is curated by Gallery Director, Jeanne Brasile who notes “Coates’ objects are imbued with history, relevance, memory and identity – giving footing for visitors to voice their position on the subjects the artist addresses through his art.”

Programs associated with the exhibition include a Wikithon co-sponsored by the Seton Hall University Libraries, Art+Feminism and the Feminist Art Project at Rutgers University.  Brooke Duffy, Coordinator of Instruction Librarian, organized the event at which attendees will be instructed how to edit or create Wikipedia pages, using the Miriam Shapiro Archive on Women Artists as reference.  The event will take place on Wednesday, February 26th from 11am to 3pm in the Beck Rooms across from the Walsh Gallery.  No advance registration is needed, attendees may come and go during the event at which all are welcome.

The exhibition is supported in part, by a regrant from the New Jersey Council on the Arts/the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

The Walsh Gallery is open 10:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday—Friday.

Gregory Coates "My Feminine Side" (detail)

Walsh Gallery presents “New World Water”

Artists Exhibit Under the Thematic Umbrella of Water
NEW WORLD WATER
November 4 – December 13, 2019

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 7th (5pm to 9pm)

The Walsh Gallery is pleased to present New World Water, a group exhibition which examines humanity’s relationship with water through the lens of contemporary art. The artists in the exhibition address themes such as: climate change, water contamination, immigration, diaspora, plastic pollution, community water management, leisure, and hygiene.

Participating artists include Keren Anavy, Dotty Attie, Aileen Bassis, Adam Brent, Nancy Cohen, Nancy Crasco, Sally Gall, Tai Hwa Goh, Ellie Irons, Anne Percoco, Nyugen Smith, Allan Wexler, and Woolpunk. The exhibition will also feature art and artifacts from the university’s collections.  A public art project, “Lawn (Re)disturbance Laboratory” by artists Anne Percoco and Ellie Irons, is currently on view on the campus grounds.  The exhibition is curated by Samantha Becker, a graduate student in the Museum Professions Program at Seton Hall University.

Image: Adam Brent “Intake” 3D printed PLA plastic, Acrylic Paint, Wooden Step Stool, 2019

Becker’s goal in curating a show on this theme is to present a diverse, yet important, series of issues surrounding water – a resource we often take for granted.  Notes Becker, “When a social issue is presented in our society, numbers on a television screen or in a newspaper do not evoke the same empathy as a personal connection to the issue.  This show will make the many issues surrounding this precious resource evident in an experiential manner.”  The curator also worked with students and faculty from the University Libraries, Environmental Studies and the School of Diplomacy to understand the issues from numerous angles. One of the components of the collaboration with the University Libraries and the School of Diplomacy is a Water Data Visualization Project, which will be on view in the Walsh Gallery Display Windows.

The Walsh Gallery is open 10:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday—Friday.

‘The Jewel of the Campus’: Walsh Library Celebrates 25 Years

‘The Jewel of the Campus’: Walsh Library Celebrates 25 Years
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 | By Matthew Minor

Exterior of the Walsh Library. Under the dome of Walsh Library hangs a quote from St. John Paul: “Faith and reason are the two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” For 25 years, Walsh Library has stood as the cornerstone of Seton Hall’s pursuit of reason within our Catholic values.In 1990, the University’s leadership noted the need for a new library. The Very Reverend Thomas Peterson, O.P., former university chancellor, said, “Seton Hall needs a new library and she needs it now. It must be her star, the jewel of her campus.”Four years later, Walsh Library opened. In the April 28, 1994 edition of the University’s student-run newspaper, The Setonian, then-Dean of Libraries Robert jones called the library dome “‘the outstanding architectural feature of the building.’ [Jones] said the dome is the library’s crowning feature and compared it to the dome of the Library of Congress.”

 

A flyer from University Day 1994
A flyer from University Day 1994

In 25 years, the library has seen much change. Richard Stern, acting dean of University Libraries from 2002-2004, said, “a jewel never changes. But as humans learn, they change the buildings they inhabit to suit their needs.” And so Walsh Library has changed from a place of quiet study to a place of lively academic discussion and socialization. In 2012, Dunkin’ opened on the library’s second floor. In March 2019, an after-hours study space opened for students’ use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Daniela Gloor, BA ’14/MPA ’15, and her classmates in the University Honors took advantage of the library to blend their studies with this “lively academic discussion and socialization.” Walsh Library “was a place where you bonded with one another while studying, completing assignments, or writing your papers,” Gloor said. “My Honors Program classmates and I anxiously sought to study in the Library Rotunda when it was available, which has a picture-perfect view of campus and is one of the most unique places at Seton Hall. While we likely cannot remember all the works we read and studied, I can certainly recall the environment of the library, many of the memories made there, and the sleepless nights we spent working toward graduation.”

Seton Hall’s community continues to seek out the Library’s resources. In 2019, 66,000 items were borrowed, loaned and/or used, more than 44,000 books were circulated, 20,000 interlibrary loan transactions were fulfilled for books and articles and keys for the group study rooms were used more than 13,000 times.

A model of Walsh Library
A model of Walsh library

Walsh Library has been a witness to the digital revolution that redefined research and study. Former Acting Dean Stern said the library “has grown from an institution where researchers came to find materials to an institution where researchers increasingly conduct all stages of their research in the digital sphere.”

Elizabeth Leonard, Assistant Dean for Information Technologies and Collection Services, said, “When Walsh Library opened in 1994, library technology, like all technology, was in its infancy…we did (yes, really) hand stamp all books going out on loan to patrons.” When the library opened, The Setonian wrote study rooms were “equipped with windows and outlets [which] are designed so students can bring their own computers and plug them into the University system.” Now, wireless laptops and a plethora of new Macs and PCs allow students to study wherever they like.

25 years later, technology touches almost every aspect of the library. In 2019 alone, roughly 427,000 full-text articles were downloaded, users viewed subject guides more than 64,000 times, the library website received 400,000 views and 1.4 million theses and dissertations were downloaded from the library’s collection. The library’s institutional repository, an online database comprising scholarly pieces such as dissertations and theses written by Seton Hall students and faculty, surpassed three million downloads in June 2019. Thanks to technology, Leonard said the library’s “resources are available to authorized users anywhere in the world, whenever they need them. We digitize lectures, books and other materials for virtual use.”

Walsh Library is looking toward the next 25 years of service to the University community. Leonard said, “We are looking forward by preserving born digital materials in a repository that will ensure they are accessible to future generations of librarians and researchers.”

View the library’s online exhibit Walsh Libraries: 25 Years of Learning, here.

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