On Exhibit: Appalachian Studies Association Exhibit
Now on exhibit in Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery: The Appalachian Studies Association Exhibit
When: March 1st-31st, 2019
Part of UNC Asheville and Mars Hill University’s co-hosted 42nd annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference held March 14-17, 2019 on the UNC Asheville campus, this exhibit features materials from various Western North Carolina Archives and Special Collections.
The exhibit is free and open to the public and features materials provided by the Appalachian Special Collections listed below. It was assembled by Gene Hyde, Head of Special Collections at UNC Asheville, and Karen Paar, Director of the Southern Appalachian Archives at Mars Hill University.
Participating collections:
UNC Asheville
Mars Hill University
Western Carolina University
Appalachian State University
NC Room, Pack Library
Western Regional Archives
Blue Ridge Parkway Archives
Warren Wilson College
Penland School of Crafts
Biltmore Industries
Carl Sandburg House
Swannanoa Valley Museum
For more information on the 42nd annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference, please click here
On Exhibit: Perimeter by David Hopes
Exhibit: Perimeter – Artworks by David Hopes
Where: in Blowers Gallery
When: February 1-28
“Perimeter explores the possibilities of the heavily textured canvas. In a usually narrative and representational painter such as myself, these works also investigate the question of how little is enough to make a coherent statement. All works are oil and mixed mediums (usually sand) on canvas.” -David Hopes
Ad Lucem Exhibit in Blowers Gallery
On Exhibit: Ad Lucem: Masking and the Resilience of a Human Spirit by Artist Shawn Winebrenner
When: On Exhibit from January 10, 2019 – January 30, 2019.
Where: Blowers Gallery in Ramsey Library
Artist Shawn Winebrenner’s Statement for the Ad Lucem Exhibit:
My photography process involves dissecting the fundamental aspects of the things that are a part of my overall being — as a human, as an artist, and as a same-gender loving man of color. It works as an extension of my personal journey, commentary on human interactions, and the varied commonalities that unite us. My creative process is moving me closer towards better understanding the juxtaposition of who I authentically am, as an individual, and the person the world thinks I am. This body of work explores masking, a human coping mechanism used to conform to collective social pressures which often locks individuals into a continuous engagement of behavioral modifications. In an attempt to please others, maintain relationships, and hold appearances genuine emotions are frequently substituted for artificial ones. This work visually interprets the practice of masking, shown through a series of photographic images, as it relates to my own personal experiences. My hope is to initiate dialogue among people about similar life occurrences and establish connections as they relate the images to their own practices of masking.
Brown Bag Talks for Spring 2019 Announced!
The Spring 2019 Brown Bag Talks schedule is now posted to the library’s website: http://library.unca.edu/c.php?g=291476&p=6475924
Library Brown Bag Talks are free and open to UNC Asheville students, faculty, and staff as well as the Asheville community. Feel free to bring your lunch. Light refreshments are always served.
Date: Thursday, January 24
Time: 12 – 1 PM
Location: Ramsey Library Special Collections
Evan Gurney, Department of English
“Vagrant Virtue: Reading Charity in Early Modern England”
Evan Gurney will present work from his new book, Love’s Quarrels: Reading Charity in Early Modern England, which explores overlaps between the landscape of poverty and social dislocation in early modern England, the period’s emergent laws that criminalized itinerant poverty, and a new popular genre of literature that purported to reveal the schemes and guises of wandering vagrants who weren’t placed in a settled location or occupation. These “masterless men and women,” as they were called, acquired a symbolic power in the cultural landscape, and their reputed capacity for persuasion and disguise offered a stand-in for larger cultural anxieties about the instability of language and unreliability of appearance. Vagrancy worried and fascinated contemporaries even as it offered them a touchstone for the interpretive pressures of reading, giving, and living charitably.
For questions or comments about Library Brown Bag Talks, please contact Gene Hyde, Head of Special Collections and University Archivist, UNC Asheville. ghyde@unca.edu or 828-251-6645
Winners of the 2018 In Character Contest Announced
The four winners of Ramsey Library’s 2018 In Character Costume Contest have been decided! Thanks to everyone who voted and especially our student, staff, and faculty contestants!
First Place was Chris James’ Anubis:
Second Place was Anna Marshall’s Princess Mononoke:
Third Place was Alex Levine’s “Deer After the Headlights:”
Fourth Place was Dean Imholz’ Carrie:
On Exhibit: What We Saw
What We Saw
On Exhibit in Blowers Gallery: November 1–16, 2018
Images made for the Resettlement and Farm Security Administrations in the 1930s documented dire environmental conditions in rural America caused by drought, erosion, and crop-killing pests such as grasshoppers, all exacerbated by the collapse of the stock market and economic depression. The result was widespread need and desperation in the American heartland. Photographs by Arthur Rothstein and others provided visual evidence of the extent of the crisis as well as justification for new federal programs to help alleviate the suffering.
This event is part of the larger photo+sphere photography events in Asheville taking place November 7-11th. For more information and a schedule of events please visit www.photoplusavl.com
Photos of the Allen School Exhibit
The Allen School
Where: Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery
When: October 9th – October 29th, 2018
An exhibit of nearly 40 photos curated from Allen High alumna scrapbooks and photo albums is on display in Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery until October 29. Allen High School opened in in Asheville in 1887 and educated over a 1000 African American women before it closed in 1974, including jazz musician Nina Simone and Dr. Christine Darden, the NASA pioneer portrayed in the movie “Hidden Figures.” The exhibit is a collaboration between UNCA’s Special Collections and the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Faculty & Staff Campus Creatives Exhibit Now in Blowers
Campus Creatives
Artistic Works from UNCA Faculty and Staff
Where: Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery
When: August 15th- September 30th, 2018
Reception will be held September 14th from 1-2pm in the Library’s Blowers Gallery.
‘Mend’
Paintings by Courtney McDaniel
Where: Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery
When: July 1st-30th, 2018
Come see UNCA Bachelor of Fine Arts alumna Courtney McDaniel’s ‘Mend’ exhibition of paintings now in Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery. The exhibit will be available for view during the library’s open hours until July 30th, 2018. In the artist’s own words:
Art has always served as my preferred form of self-expression. As a quiet, introverted person, I find it easier to convey my thoughts and ideas through creating artwork. It also serves a method for communicating, not only with others, but with myself as well. Through my development as an artist, I have adapted to using art as a way to work through difficult experiences and emotions. Painting has allowed me to harness my emotions and release them through layers, textures, motions, and the overall art making process. Art making has become my own way of mending the “broken” parts of my life in order to move forward in a more positive mindset. This body of work is an embodiment of that as it shows an amalgamation of my work over the years.
Fiber Arts Alliance Exhibit Now Up in Blowers!
Now in Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery is one of our perennial favorites: The Fiber Arts Alliance! The Fiber Arts Alliance is a group of fiber artists and enthusiasts in western North Carolina. This years’ exhibit is called, “ Delicious Fiber” and includes 35 works by 11 artists. Cheryl Alderman, Julie Bagamary, Kathie Briggs, Lynn Della Posta, Carole Honeycutt, Carol Hanniffy, Tina Hvitfeldt, Meg Manderson, Diane Mullins, Jenny Perry, Laurel Reinhardt, and Heather Yurgeles. The exhibit runs from May 31-June 28, 2018, when the Library is open. Please see Library hours at http://library.unca.edu/about/hours.
Ramsey Library 