Hello Friends,

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Cheers

I love Sergei Isupov‘s unique ceramic works and seem to stumble across them at least once a week for the last few months, either online or through books I’ve seen. His work certainly stays in the back of my mind when I think of interesting contemporary ceramics. Isupov is a Russian artist currently living and working in the Western MA area.

Kate MacDowell, who studied at Brown in Providence, RI, works in porcelain. She creates incredibly detailed pieces, many dealing with  human and animal autopsied bodies and internal organs. She uses different kinds of lighting inside some of her pieces, giving them a warm glow.

If anyone knows of any other interesting/weird ceramic artists, let me know!

Hi there! My name is Tiffany Chan and I’ve worked here at the library for about 3 years now.  When I first stumbled across this book, I thought it belonged in  Special Collections with all the other cool and unique books. But here it is, open to the public for everyone to enjoy!

So it’s basically an ABC pop-up book but it’s just so beautifully designed, well crafted and pretty much ingenious. Honestly for lack of better words, this book is one of the coolest books I’ve found in this library and since no pictures or words can do it justice, here’s a video walk through of the book!

If you ever feel the need to gawk upon this book in person, it can be found hidden in the back of the library (like treasure!) under the call number Z1033. T68 B3874 2008

Hello, my name is Rebecca Linthwaite and I’ve worked at the Morton R. Godine Library as a student worker for three years.  Throughout my time here Ive been fortunate enough to browse the large collection of art books.  I also have always loved classic literature and the library has some great reads.  You can check out the PR and PS section for some of these books.

I want to talk about the modern drama “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” by Eugene O’Neill.

O’Neill, Eugene, New Haven, Yale University Press: 1956. PS3529 N5 L6

I read this book in high school and also in my Modern Drama class at MassArt, and it has remained one of my  favorite pieces of literature.  Eugune O’Neill wrote this play slightly autobiographical.   The tale revolves around a family facing grave issues.  The main character, Edmund, suspected to be Eugene himself, is suffering from tuberculosis, but the family refuses to accept his fate.  His mother, Mary relinquished her dream of becoming a nun to marry her husband James, a stingy, outdated Shakespearean actor.  Mary is full of regret and starts taking morphine to calm herself.  Every night, she becomes more and more forgetful and walks out of her house by the beach into the fog.  Lastly, there is the older son Jamie who is an aspiring actor and an alcoholic.  Both Jamie and Tyrone share similar hostile characteristics, while Mary and Edmund are submissive, depressed and have suicidal thoughts.

This play takes place in one day, starting from the early morning into midnight.  The title is not only literal, but presents a descent of the emotional instability of each character.  The play is somber and metaphoric.  After reading this drama several times, it makes me try to understand the impact of one’s actions.  Also the themes in the story, regret, death, insomnia, loss of one’s potential and so on, are relatable and fascinating to read about.  This drama is hauntingly beautiful.  Despite the downfall of this family’s relationship,  there is a sense that they are all connected and care about each other.  I feel this drama helps one understand family dynamics and how to cope with psychological problems.

Eugene O’Neill died in Boston in 1953.  He is buried at the Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain.

I’m starting a new blog feature to highlight some of the items in our collection that you won’t find browsing the N sections (that’s where we put the traditional art books). Let me know what you think.

Haggis-on-Whey, Doris. Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid. San Fransisco: McSweeney’s, 2006.

Call #: GC21 .A55 2006

Book Description from the McSweeney’s website:

Introducing the third installment in a proposed series of 377 reference books, all written by Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey, a team of highly energized and deeply focused scientists with over sixty-seven combined years of experience at their command, including six months spent lifting awkwardly-sized boxes.

Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid, advances many heretofore unexplored discoveries and opinions, including squid dating dos and don’ts, why squid are not at all able to watch television in black and white, the ways in which people who don’t know any better might think fish are not animals, the long-term effects of salt water on musical theater, and also the adventure of Gunther.

Dr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey has seventeen degrees from eighteen institutions of higher learning. She is a world-renowned and much-feared expert on just about everything. With her husband Benny, she has traveled the world over, and has learned about all aspects of life, including outer space and food, first-hand. She has written or will soon write over 147 books.

Interior pages are full color and illustrated without reserve. This book does not contain a warning label, but if it did, it would advise readers to enjoy its pages only in small and furtive doses, such as while waiting your turn at tetherball.

“The epic life of a world-class artist, jammed into six minutes.
Narrated by Tom Waits.
Commissioned by LACMA for their first annual “Art + Film Gala” honoring John Baldessari and Clint Eastwood.

directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman (http://gosupermarche.com/)
edited by Max Joseph (http://www.maxjoseph.com/)
written by Gabriel Nussbaum (http://www.bankstreetfilms.com)
cinematography by Magdalena Gorka (http://magdalenagorka.com/)
& Henry Joost
produced by Mandy Yaeger & Erin Wright”

Visiting artist and scholar Harold Ryterband is on sabbatical and will be utilizing the Morton R. Godine Library at Massachusetts College of Art and Design for part of the summer. He will be doing extensive research on visual literacy pedagogy. His recent publication “If it looks pointy it may hurt when you touch it” (March 2012) was widely received amongst his peers. A performance piece is in the works for Fall of 2012.  Harold is also hoping to be interim acquisitions librarian for retired librarian Richard McElroy. We expect Harold’s nocturnal tendencies will allow him to get Richard’s periodical cataloging backlog done in a jiffy. This will be in between snacking, playing, and running in his wheel.

As if there wasn’t reason enough to love ARTstor, they’re collaborating with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to add thousands of works from the Guggenheim’s permanent collection to the image database.

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ARTstor just released 750 images including works by Louise Bourgeois, Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Willem de Kooning, Paul Klee, Robert Mapplethorpe, Claes Oldenburg, Cindy Sherman, and Vincent van Gogh.

Ultimately the collection of Guggenheim images will number 7000 and will include exhibition installation views from the Guggenheim museums in New York, Venice, and Bilbao.

The MassArt library wants to congratulate all of our graduating seniors and grad students. Well Done!

MassArt’s 2012 honorary doctorate of fine arts recipients are:

Matthew Carter, Type Designer

Frank R. Wilson, M.D. , Neurologist

As most of the world knows, Maurice Sendak died 3 days ago on Tuesday May 8th. The MassArt library grieves and celebrates a profoundly wonderful illustrator and writer. Here’s to you Maurice ! Chicken soup and rice will always be nice.

We Love You,

Morton R. Godine Library (MassArt)

In the Night Kitchen (1970) is currently on display on the 12th floor of the library.