Books and Bytes is a series of talks by local authors who discuss the research, writing, and publication of their art, architecture, or design book. Our community of scholars is invited to participate in discussions afterward, so they may learn from one another’s experiences. Books and Bytes is co-sponsored by the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and the University of Houston Libraries. 
We are pleased to host the editors of More City than Water: a Houston Flood Atlas, Lacy M. Johnson, Rice University, and Cheryl Beckett, UH College of the Arts, as well as Susan Rogers, UH College of Architecture and Design, who authored one of the chapters.
Shortly after Hurricane Harvey dumped a record 61 inches of rain on Houston in 2017, celebrated writer and Bayou City resident Lacy M. Johnson began collecting flood stories. Although these stories attested to the infinite variety of experience in America’s most diverse city, they also pointed to a consistent question: What does catastrophic flooding reveal about this city, and what does it obscure?
More City than Water brings together essays, conversations, and personal narratives from climate scientists, marine ecologists, housing activists, urban planners, artists, poets, and historians as they reflect on the human geography of a region increasingly defined by flooding. Both a literary and a cartographic anthology, More City than Water features striking maps of Houston’s floodplains, waterways, drainage systems, reservoirs, and inundated neighborhoods. Designed by University of Houston seniors from the Graphic Design program, each map, imaginative and precise, shifts our understanding of the flooding, the public’s relationship to it, and the fraught reality of rebuilding. Evocative and unique, this is an atlas that uncovers the changing nature of living where the waters rise.
This spring semester the Architecture, Design, and Art Library is exhibiting two new displays featuring items from the rare books room.
First, located on the first floor of the library, are a selection of posters from Art in Posters, the Complete Original Posters of Braque, Chagall, Dufy, Leger, Matisse, Miro, and Picasso (1959).
On view upstairs in the mezzanine floor display case are a few plates from Sketches Abroad: Germany & Switzerland. Made Whilst Traveling Student of the Royal Academy (1876) by Bernard Smith.
These two exhibits will be available until June 2023.
The Architecture, Design, and Art Library proudly presents the work of featured artist ‘22-23 Javier Rivera. His exhibit, Street Corners, will be on view until March 2023.
Statement
My work expresses the documentation of events and the question of how they can be presented. I am able to express this by telling a story or creating a metaphor. It is characterized by using everyday objects and situations in an atmosphere of class difference, in which recognition plays an important role. It is through recognition that I can portray my community and speak to a broader audience. With this, I seek to investigate the representations of cultures and situations as well as depictions and ideas.
Bio
Javier Rivera is a Houston based artist who takes inspiration from subcultures, background, and landscapes. His paintings and artworks demonstrate how life extends beyond its own subjective limits, and often tells a story about cultural interactions. Rivera is currently a student at the University of Houston, in his final year of the School of Art’s Painting Program.
Spring 2022
March 22, 2022
Pop-up Library
Theme: Celebrating National Craft Month
May 12, 2022
Pop-Up Library
Theme: Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month
Fall 2022
September 22, 2022
Pop-up Library & Showcase
Theme: Celebrating LatinX Heritage Month
Starting December 15th the library will go into Intersession with limited hours.
Intersession Hours
Monday – Friday : 8am – 5pm
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Winter Break – Closed
Monday, December 26 – Friday, December 30
*Intersession hours resume January 2nd*
MLK Holiday – Closed
Monday, January 16, 2023
First Day of School
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
*Regular Hours Resume*
Monday – Thursday : 8am – 8pm
Friday : 8am – 5pm
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Pop-Up Art Library + Studio Sessions
Find our Pop-Up Library + Studio Sessions booth during the Student Center’s Stress-Free Finals Kickoff. You can browse through a selection of fun curated art books then participate in fun art-making activities. There will also be free giveaways, music, and much more!
Date: November 29, 2022
Time: 11:00am – 1:30pm
Location: Student Center Plaza
About
Pop-Up’s
The Pop-Up Library program began in 2018 in collaboration with Blaffer Art Museum to introduce students to two campus resources. Each pop-up consists of curated art books thematically related to the museum’s current exhibitions.
Studio Sessions
Students are invited to join drop-in tours and hands-on activities to better connect with current exhibitions. The Blaffer regularly partners with the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library to a host a pop-up at each event where students can check out art books and supplies.
This event is free and open to all students
♥Follow Us♥
Monday, Nov 21st : 8am – 8pm
Tuesday, Nov 22nd : 8am – 8pm
Wednesday, Nov 23rd : 8am – 5pm
Thursday, Nov 24th : Closed
Friday, Nov 25th : Closed
Saturday, Nov 26th : Closed
Sunday, Nov 27th : Closed
Pop-Up Art Library + Studio Sessions
Stroll through the beautiful Student Center Plaza and find our booth during BAMSA’S Biannual Art Show featuring student art work. Then check-out our fun photography books related to Paul Anthony Smith’s exhibition. Refreshments provided!
Date: November 17, 2022
Time: 4:00 – 6:30pm
Location: Student Center Plaza
About
Pop-Up’s
The Pop-Up Library program began in 2018 in collaboration with Blaffer Art Museum to introduce students to two campus resources. Each pop-up consists of curated art books thematically related to the museum’s current exhibitions.
Studio Sessions
Students are invited to join drop-in tours and hands-on activities to better connect with current exhibitions. The Blaffer regularly partners with the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library to a host a pop-up at each event where students can check out art books and supplies.
This event is free and open to all students
♥Follow Us♥
The Architecture, Design, and Art Library proudly presents the work of featured artist ‘22-23 Kassidi Yosko. Her exhibit, KASSIFYS Hyperrealism, will be on view until December 2022.
Statement
Drawing saved my life multiple times throughout my life. The journey started when I was a little girl and needed to escape from the negativity of the world. You get lost in drawing; it unintentionally became a form of meditation. Every stroke, every detail, my soul goes into every piece. Each time I improve it’s because I went through something and poured those emotions on the paper. These moments’ drive me to do more. To work longer. The long hours and long months I spend using the pencil on one piece… can’t live without that experience. Hopefully the world can see through my work how passionate I am and just how much I love drawing.
Bio
Kassidi Yosko, otherwise known as KASSIFY. 23 years old born and raised in Houston, TX. Been attending UH for 6 years now and in my last year of architecture school. I lost my older brother at the beginning of my college career, then a close friend in the middle, and then my mother a year ago. So outside of architecture I go through so much and art is my ability to get away from all of it. I plan to aim for NYC after graduation for my career in architecture but also so my art can be seen and appreciated on higher levels.
🎃Halloween Library Scavenger Hunt
Want to have a spooky good time this Halloween? Then stop by the Architecture, Design, and Art Library for a fang-tastic time! Collect clues to complete a secret phrase and win some treats! Plus enter to win a special prize drawing. So happy haunting and stop by…if you dare!
Ghostly Date: 10/31/22
Witching hours: 9am -7pm
Enchanted Grounds: The Architecture, Design, and Art Library/Room 106 (Inside the College of Architecture and Design.)
🎃Rules
*Play individually, if you dare.
*Hunt for the hidden clues using QR codes, watch for the undead.
*Spell out the phrase, mwahaha!
*Win a treat and be sure to holler trick or treat!
🎃Social Media
Twitter: @UH_Arch_Art_Lib
Facebook: @UH.Arch.Art.Library