EIU Booth Library

Exhibits 2012

• Charles Blakely Hall: From Eastern Student to Tuskegee Airman

  Charles Hall played football for Eastern in the late 1930s. During World War II he became famous as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen-a squadron of African-American pilots. Captain Hall compiled an admirable record in the service, becoming the first African-American to shoot down an enemy aircraft. An exhibit about Capt. Hall is now on display in the Marvin Foyer, including a "G. I. Joe" toy that was actually based on the exploits of Charles Hall himself.
  
  Curators: Robert Hillman and Johna Von Behrens

• Titanic Centennial Exhibit

  In remembrance of the sinking of the Titanic and the death of more than 1,500 people 100 years ago, Booth Library has set up a month-long display in the south lobby. The exhibit features images of the Titanic, some of its famous passengers, and facts about the sinking of this magnificent ship on the tragic night of April 14-15, 1912. Also featured are images and facts about an excursion boat called the Eastland, which capsized three years later while tied to a dock on the Chicago River, resulting in the death of 848 men, women and children-more than half as many people as were killed on the Titanic. Curators: Bob Hillman and Johna Von Behrens.

• Building Memories Exhibit

  The Eastern Illinois University community has defined itself over the years socially, politically, and culturally. These pervasive aspects of EIU's past and present can be seen in the naming of buildings, the design of landscapes, the dedication of memorials, and through current and forgotten campus traditions and memories.

  How these memories have been created will be the subject of an exhibition and related public program at Booth Library on Thursday evening, April 12th, at 7:00 p.m. The exhibition and public program are jointly sponsored by the History Department's M. A. in Historical Administration Program and the staff of Booth Library. The exhibit will examine Eastern's grounds, buildings, and aspects of campus life through the lens of public memory.

  Graduate students in the Historical Administration class of 2011-2012 will summarize the themes of the exhibit and share their research in a special opening program. Questions from the audience at the conclusion of the student presentations will be encouraged. Admission is free.

  Please join us in remembering EIU.

• 2011-2012 Cultivating Creativity Children's Art Exhibit

  The traveling exhibition Cultivating Creativity 2011-2012: Consolidated Communications Children's Art Exhibit ends its year-long tour in Charleston at Booth Library, 600 Lincoln Ave. The exhibit will be on view through August 5th. Cultivating Creativity showcases some of the outstanding art produced through east-central Illinois school art programs. Presented is art by 43 students, each representing a different school. The art was created during the 2010-2011 school year.

  Representing schools in the Charleston area are Cade Lawless, Carl Sandburg Elementary School; Lucas Hawk, Jefferson Elementary School; Lynsay Kibler, Mark Twain Elementary School; and Hannah Buescher, Ashmore Elementary School

  Lawless's mixed media piece, "Forest of Beech Trees," was created in the second grade at Carl Sandburg Elementary School, under the instruction of Heather Bryan. Fourth grader Hawk, at Jefferson Elementary School, was under the direction of Mandy White when he created his marker drawing "A Handful of Patterns." At Mark Twain Elementary School, kindergartener Kibler painted "Gordy the Fish" in watercolor resist under Penny Hess. "Horse Hannah", a tempera piece by second grader Buescher, was also created under the direction of Penny Hess at Ashmore Elementary School.

  Cultivating Creativity 2011-2012 is sponsored by Consolidated Communications and the Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University. The exhibit will travel to 14 area communities, from Assumption to Paris and from Tuscola to Effingham. The Tarble Arts Center teams with Consolidated Communications in this annual program to showcase some of the outstanding art by area students and to help raise awareness of the importance of including the arts as part of the regular school curriculum.

  The 2011 report "Reinvesting in Arts Education" emphasizes the correlation between arts education and brain development. "Increasingly, researchers are finding evidence that early arts education is a building block of developing brain function." Anne Duncan in the report "Reinvesting in Arts Education" emphasizes the importance of the arts in a comprehensive education at an early age. Duncan writes, "to succeed today and in the future America's children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative. The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education."

  Area schools participating this year include: Altamont CUSD #10; Arthur District #305; Charleston District #1; Casey-Westfield Junior and Senior High Schools; Central A&M District #21; Central Grade School, Effingham; Crestwood Unit #4 School, Paris; Effingham High School; Kansas District #3; Main Street and Moulton Schools, Shelbyville; Mattoon District #2; Neoga CUSD #3; Oakland District #5; Okaw Valley District #302; South Side Elementary School, Effingham; St. Anthony Grade School, Effingham; Stewardson-Strasburg District #5A; St. Mary's School, Paris; Sullivan Middle and High Schools; Tuscola High School; and Windsor District #1.

  The exhibit is comprised of art works in a wide variety of media and styles. Included are paintings in tempera, acrylic, and watercolor; drawings in ink, pastel, colored pencil, crayon, chalk and graphite; and collage. Other media represented are woven reed, scratch board, digital photography and mixed media.

  Cultivating Creativity is a community engagement program of the Tarble Arts Center. The Tarble also offers a variety of other educational programs for area schools, including a tour/workshop Enrichment program that is open to area fifth grade and to junior/senior high art students, a month-long artist-in-the-schools residency, guided tours, and teacher workshops. Most programs are presented free of charge to the participating schools and supported through Tarble membership contributions and the Tarble Arts Center Endowment/EIU Foundation.

  For more information about the Cultivating Creativity exhibit or other programs contact the Tarble Arts Center at 217/581-ARTS (-2787) or tarble@eiu.edu. The Tarble is funded in part by the Tarble Arts Center Fund/EIU Foundation, Tarble Arts membership contributions, and program sponsors. A division of the EIU College of Arts & Humanities, the Tarble is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

• 1896-2012 Summer Olympic Posters

  This exhibit showcases Summer Olympic posters from 1896 to 2012. The posters explore relationships between sport and art, politics and place, commerce and culture. On display through Aug. 20 in the South Lobby and University Archives. Curated by Johna Von Behrens.

• Mexican Folk and Popular Art

  Curated by Kit Morice, a survey of Mexican popular and folk art forms, including ceramics, masks, papel picado, papier-maché, and works inspired by el Día de los Muertos is on display in the Reference hallway through October 14. This exhibition is in observance of Latino Heritage Month at EIU.

• Guit(art)

  "Guit(art) Bass Guitar," Marvin Foyer, Marlene Slough and Robert Hillman, curators. On display is a 1966 Fender jazz bass guitar decorated by Mike Getz. This instrument is part of the Mark Rubel Collection currently on exhibit in the Tarble Arts Center. Runs through September 30.
  
  Also on display are Martin, Electra, Hondo, and Jackson guitars from the collection of Glen Davis.

• Ancient Greece exhibits

  A variety of exhibits examining Ancient Greece will be on display in the North Lobby and Marvin Foyer of Booth Library from Oct. 1 through Nov. 19. The exhibits are in conjunction with A Futuristic Look Through Ancient Lenses: A Symposium on Ancient Greece, which will be held on the Eastern campus from Oct. 3 to Nov. 7. The exhibits were curated by library faculty, staff, and EIU students. They focus on several topics: Arts and Humanities of Ancient Greece, Sciences of Ancient Greece, Alexander the Great, Greek Philosophers, Ancient Greece Through Fiction, Military History of Ancient Greece, Fables, Festivals, Gods and Heroes: Religion in Ancient Greece, Greek Mythology for Children and Nutrition. Further information on the exhibits and the symposium is available on the symposium website.

• Gene Hackman: From Danville, Illinois, to Hollywood

  In conjunction with the Embarras Valley Film Festival (Nov. 1-3), this exhibit chronicles the life and career of "the versatile Gene Hackman" - star of stage, screen and television, and author of novels. Raised in Danville, Illinois, Hackman rose to greatest prominence in the film industry, appearing in almost 100 movies and winning two Academy Awards. Curated by Bob Hillman and Johna Von Behrens.

• Children in Literature Revisioned in Film

  The Children in Literature Revisioned in Film exhibit, located in the South Lobby, highlights classic films featuring children to promote the English Department's Fall 2012 Literature Conference: "The Child in Literature." Curators: Janice Derr, Johna Von Behrens and Karen Whisler. On display through Nov. 16.

• Building a Brotherhood: Freemasons in Central Illinois

  Exhibit opening: "Building a Brotherhood: Freemasons in Central Illinois" On view at Booth Library on Eastern Illinois Universities campus November 28, 2012 through January 18, 2013 Opening reception, November 28, 4:30-6:00 p.m., West Reading Room, Booth Library

  "Building a Brotherhood" focuses on freemasonry in Central Illinois after World War II. Men established local masonic lodges as one of the first steps in establishing a community. Members were often community leaders, businessmen and progressives concerned about economic stability and personal health and security. They joined for various reasons including family involvement, the spirit of giving and the high moral standard associated with being a masons. Membership grew quickly after World War II, but critics of freemasonry exaggerated the fraternity's secretiveness and linked this to subversive behavior. Several things led to a downturn in membership during the 1960's as the counter culture movement challenged the tradition of belonging.

  Students enrolled in HIS 4930: Public History-Meaning & Method have researched, designed and installed this exhibit with the help of several Illinois masons including Michael Shirley, Department of History, Eastern Illinois University; Noel Dicks, Arthur; Frank Lincoln, Tuscola; Todd Creason, Fithian; Marc Wilson, Springfield; and William Jones, Villa Grove. Come meet the students and learn more about the history of freemasonry from those who have experienced it since the mid-1940s.

  For more information contact Debra A. Reid, Department of History, Eastern Illinois University, 217-581-7272; dareid@eiu.edu

• Postcard Views into Coles County's Past Part II

  This exhibit examines the history of buildings and sites in Coles County through postcards from the Booth Library collection. Curated by Ellen Corrigan. On display in the 3000 Level Corridor November 20, 2012 through January 10, 2013.