News & Blog

For 40 years, book artists and fine press printers Peter and Donna Thomas have been creating, printing, and publishing fine press and artist’s books. In celebration of 40 years of making books, Peter and Donna are traveling the country with their Book Arts Tiny Home lecturing about their work.

On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., the UCF Libraries Special Collections & University Archives, the UCF School of Visual Art and Design, and the UCF Art Gallery are hosting a talk by Peter and Donna in room 108 of the Visual Arts Building on the UCF Campus. In addition to their talk, the Thomas’ Book Arts Tiny Home will be on campus that day in the parking lot just south of the Visual Arts Building.

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“The World of Disney: Inspirations from the Baroque & Rococo” looks at the imaginative and ambitious artistic and architectural projects of two men: King Louis XIV (1683-1715) and Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966). Using a variety of materials from the UCF Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives and the Libraries’ General Collection, this exhibit demonstrates ways Disney elevated popular entertainment by emulating the elegance and grandeur of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture of Louis XIV’s Versailles. The exhibit was curated by UCF students Madison Clyburn, Chelsea Hilding, and Shatia Gordon for their class “Art of Disney” (ARH3888) with UCF Art History professor Dr. Keri Watson. The exhibit is on view on the 5th floor of the John C. Hitt Library from April 6, 2018 through June 29, 2018.

Haitian art is a unique synthesis of different cultures, including indigenous Caribbean, African and European. In all societies, however, nature plays an important role in people’s daily lives. The newest exhibit from UCF Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives, “Nature as a Linking Force: Temporal and Spiritual Life in Haiti,” celebrates the close bond between Haitian identity and nature. The show displays paintings of Haitian people enclosed in lush and vivid landscapes, voodoo rituals, and fantasy scenes. The exhibit was curated by UCF student and Special Collections & University Archives employee, Renata Nagy, and designed by Special Collections & University Archives book conservator, Christopher Saclolo.
The exhibit is on view on the 2nd floor of the John C. Hitt Library from Wednesday, April 4th through Thursday, May 31st.

Author, historian, and political cartoonist Glenn M. Stein will be speaking Wednesday, March 28th, 2018 at 1:30 pm in the John C. Hitt Library, Room 223. Stein will talk about researching, writing, and publishing his book, Discovering the North-West Passage: The Four-Year Arctic Odyssey of H.M.S Investigator and the McClure Expedition. A maritime and polar historian, Stein is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, life member of the American Polar Society, and a member of the Orders of Medals Research Society. Stein’s work has been recognized by numerous national and international organizations and his writings are included in the collections of the Library of Congress and the UCF Libraries.

Sponsored by Special Collections & University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries.

The UCF Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives is pleased to announce the 12th Annual Book Arts Competition Exhibit. For twelve years, the University of Central Florida Libraries have been supporting the artistic works of undergraduate and graduate students in book arts. We continue to celebrate this unique art practice with the annual Student Book Arts Competition. Students submit their original hand bound artist books for the opportunity to receive a purchase award to be included in Special Collections & University Archives’ permanent Book Arts & Typography Collection.

A panel of judges select an artist book based on creativity, craftsmanship, content, and design. This year’s judges were David Benjamin, Head of UCF Special Collections & University Archives, and Benjamin Rinehart, Associate Professor of Printmaking and Artist Books at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

This year’s competition had some of the most unique books submitted, which challenged the selection process. Two artist books were awarded the top accolades by the judges, Reflections of Facts by Hannah Carter and F___My Life by Aaron Stefan. Both books pushed the boundaries of what artist books can achieve. Two distinct works, Reflections of Facts is about a personal loss and how we attempt to understand fact and F___My Life illustrates how economic and social shifts today have changed the perceived American life from a classic board game. Congratulations to both students!

This exhibit will run through the month of February 2018, which features all entries submitted during the 2017 academic calendar as well as past winners in the exhibit area on the 5th floor of the John C. Hitt Library.