Summer 2017
Maurice Tuchman
David Hockney: A Retrospective
New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,
1988
“If there is one image that more than any other is conventionally associated with David Hockney’s art, surely it is the image of the swimming pool… Among the most compelling is A Bigger Splash (fig. 24), a pool painting in which the baroque flourish that disrupts the center of the otherwise flatly painted canvas signals the disappearance of a diver beneath the placid blue surface of a backyard oasis. The angle of the diving board, which juts out and away from the lower-right corner of the canvas, invites us into the clean, radiant clarity of the crisply beguiling picture. Thus located in relation to the scene, we are next in line for the disappearing act.”
— Christopher Knight, “Composite Views: Themes and Motifs in Hockney’s Art”
April 2017
Robert Nathan
One More Spring
Illustrated by William Addison Dwiggins
Stamford, Connecticut: The Overbrook Press, 1935
Gould Library Special Collections
April’s selection of the month celebrates the season with Robert Nathan’s One More Spring. This little known book is well recognized for its beautiful stencil illustrations done by W.A. Dwiggins, a calligrapher and typography designer. Dwiggins is one of the most famous book designers of the 1920s and 30s, famously coining the term “Graphic Designer” in reference to himself in 1922.
Each stencil in the book was hand cut, traced and painted. The images reflect and accentuate the narrative of the novel as Dwiggins uses bold colors and sharp lines. One More Spring follows a small group of homeless New Yorkers who must work together to make it by during the Great Depression.
March 2017
Mary Wollstonecraft
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects
London : J. Johnson, 1796
3rd edition
Gould Library Special Collections
March is Women’s History Month, and our Selection honors one of the founders of feminist philosophy: Mary Wollstonecraft. Born in England in 1759, Mary Wollstonecraft is best known for authoring this book, originally written and published in 1792. In it, Wollstonecraft argues that women and men possess the same intellectual capacity, and points out that women have been deprived of equal access to education, for which she advocates. She also provides an extensive critique of conventional notions of femininity. Before her death at the age of 38 in 1797, Wollstonecraft gave birth to two daughters, one of whom, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, grew up to become an accomplished author in her own right, penning Frankenstein as Mary Shelley in 1818.
February 2017: Black History Month
Caren Heft
The CORE of James Farmer
Text by Detine L. Bowers
Stevens Point, WI: Arcadian Press, 2003
Edition of 30
Gould Library Special Collections
This artist’s book honors the life of one of the heroes of the American Civil Rights Movement. Working alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. to advocate for equal rights and desegregation, James Farmer co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). He worked as an advocate and organizer of nonviolent protests throughout the 1960s, including the Freedom Rides of 1961, which eventually led to the desegregation of interstate transportation. The book’s text is drawn from interviews Detine L. Bowers conducted with Farmer before his death in 1999. Artist Caren Heft designed and printed this book in wood and metal letterpress on handmade paper a few years later, describing it as “an intimate look at James Farmer’s last days, his body failing, his spirit undaunted.” Heft founded Arcadian Press in an effort to celebrate and publish underrepresented voices through creative bookmaking. Learn more.
September 2016
Sarah Bryant and David N Allen
Figure Study
Brighton, UK: Big Jump Press, 2015
Gould Library Special Collections
To create this book, artist Sarah Bryant and her collaborator, biologist David Allen worked with population data from every region on earth. Bryant and Allen used the data to create population pyramids, and paired the charts to create abstract, figure-like forms that make clear the disparities between regions. By printing the images on translucent, loose-leaf papers, they encourage viewers to make comparisons, consider differences, and reflect on the stories told by the numbers. To see more of Sarah Bryant’s work, visit her website: Big Jump Press.