The William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library is pleased to present Play and Process by student artist Felicia Leyva. The opening reception will be held on Friday, August 3, with light refreshments. The exhibit will be on display through October, and is free and open to the public.
Leyva is a sculpture BFA student at the University of Houston. While she has experimented with several mediums, her work mainly focuses on her increasing interest in fiber arts. Known for her fun and colorful style, she enjoys bringing new life to everyday soft materials like yarn, foam, and felt. Her work has been exhibited at Blaffer Art Museum’s Student Exhibition and UH Biannual Art Show on campus grounds. As she continues her creative journey, she hopes to further blur the line between craft and fine art.
Artist’s statement:
I make art because I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. It’s a great part of who I am. When I go days without making something, I feel almost sick and weighed down. The process of making art is my way of clearing out my mind and letting go of frustrations. Art is very therapeutic and as a person who internalizes things, I find much relief in it.
I’m geared towards making playful, lighthearted art because it reminds me of easier times as a child. I feel as though somewhere down the line of growing up, my life picked up a lot of anger and pain. I’ve been trying to cancel out these negative feelings with bright, colorful, artworks. I think I’m trying to create a fun and beautiful world to live in. One that makes myself and others feel happy.
I was introduced to the world of fiber arts about a year ago and fell in love with it. Fibers are the best medium for producing inviting, comforting textures. There is something magical about creating work that entices others to reach out and touch them. I have never minded if people touch my work. I actually encourage it because then you are no longer simply viewing but experiencing the piece. Through touch, I believe that you can connect with my artwork and ultimately, myself.
A newly digitized and accessible collection focusing on Houston’s Riverside Terrace has been added to the UH Libraries Audio/Video Repository.
The collection features raw footage captured for the production of the 1987 documentary This Is Our Home, It Is Not For Sale by Jon Schwartz. The searchable and viewable clips comprise over 110 interviews with former residents, city council members, former University of Houston faculty, and other community leaders discussing the evolution of Riverside Terrace amid urban development, expansion of neighboring institutions, and changes in demographics during the 1950s and 60s. The firsthand perspectives of interviewees collectively provide a fascinating and honest narrative about race and real estate in mid-century Houston.
The complete documentary is available to watch in the UH Special Collections Reading Room. In addition, the papers of filmmaker Jon Schwartz are preserved and accessible in the Reading Room. This collection covers the full scope of records related to the production of the documentary. Interviews from the collection were digitized with the generous support of an Institute of Museum and Library Services TexTreasures grant, administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
The William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library offers art and design students the opportunity to exhibit their work inside its facility, giving them experience installing work in a public space, as well as the chance to explore the relationship between their work and the library’s materials. Work exhibited in the Architecture and Art Library during the Fall Semester can be viewed in the UH Digital Library. Use the links below to see each artist’s work.
Students in the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and the School of Art may propose to exhibit their work using our online form.
The Architecture & Art Library will close from 2 pm on Friday, May 11th, until the College of Architecture and Design’s graduation has commenced, approximately 90 minutes.
Sketches Abroad has been digitized for the UH Digital Library. The oversized portfolio features sketches made by Julius A. Schweinfurth during a nine month tour Spain, Italy, France, and the South Kensington Museum in 1886. Mr. Schweinfurth earned a Rotch Travelling Fellowship from the Boston Society of Architects, which allowed him to travel and publish his sketches. He later became chief designer at Peabody and Sterns, one of the most prominent American firms of the late nineteenth century, before launching his own firm in 1895. His notable works include several dormitories at Wellesley College and the Bradley Chapel at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, NY. He and his family endowed the Schweinfurth Art Center, which continues to operate in Auburn.
This rare portfolio is part of the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library’s Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room collection. Contact Catherine Essinger at cwessinger@uh.edu to schedule a time to view this or other rare books on art and design.
An installation of prints and multimedia artwork by UH alumnus Lisa Marie Kress is on view on the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library’s upper mezzanine through May 2018. Ms. Kress, currently an instructor at the University of Houston-Downtown, earned her MFA from the UH School of Art in 2001.
The William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library has recently acquired a number of exceptional works for its Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, thanks to the generous support of donors Edward Lukasek and Barry Moore, who donated titles from their personal collections, and the families of Howard Barnstone and Melita Franzheim, as well as Kenneth Franzheim II, all of whom established endowments that allow the library to acquire and maintain superb books on art, architecture and design. The books listed below may viewed by appointment. Contact Catherine Essinger at cwessinger@uh.edu for more information.
| The alphabet of Francesco Torniello da Novara [1517 : Followed by a comparison with the alphabet of Fra Luca Pacioli] |
L’architecture gothique religieuse en Catalogne, Valence et Baléares
L’art chrétien : son développement iconographique des origines à nos jour
Les débuts de la sculpture romane espagnole : Leon, Jaca, Compostelle
Designs for monuments : including grave stones, compartments, wall pieces and tombs on 40 plates
The earliest painted panels of Catalonia
The Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John / with wood engravings by Hans Alexander Mueller
French cathedrals / by Benjamin Winkles
Mineko Grimmer : Remembering Plato : the Menil Collection
Screen tests : a diary / [by] Gerard Malanga and Andy Warhol
Visionary architects : Boullée, Ledoux, Lequeu
Winkles’s architectural and picturesque illustrations of the cathedral churches of England and Wales
Visitors to the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library may view fine examples from the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room this spring. The library’s exhibit cases are filled with important texts from one of the greatest American architects, as well as a recently acquired performance piece by Salvador Dali.
Nine works on and by Frank Lloyd Wright are on view through May, including a 1938 exhibit catalog produced by the Museum of Modern Art, drawings from his published portfolio, and a very rare paint catalog featuring colors personally selected by Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was one of the most important architects of the 20th century, as well as a respected author and architectural philosopher. He began his career as a residential architect, who introduced to his unique “Prairie Style” idealism to American architecture. His career slowed considerably after scandals involving his marriages and a mass murder that took place in his home. This downturn encouraged him to reinvigorate his career by publishing an autobiography and other works, culminating with Testament, one of the books on display in the Jenkins Library.
Visitors may also view a book, libretto, and audio recording of Salvador Dali’s little-known opera Être Dieu: opéra-poème, audiovisuel et cathare en six parties [Being God: a Cathar Audiovisual Opera-Poem in Six Parts], libretto by Manuel Vazquez Montalban and music by Igor Wakhevitch. Salvador Dali and his collaborators composed this performance art piece in 1974. It is based on mystery plays and inspired by Catharism, a 12th century Gnostic revival movement. Dali plays the role of God in this rare recording. The William R. Jenkins Library recently purchased Être Dieu with funds from the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Book Endowment.
I’m pleased to announce that Edith Villasenor has joined the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library staff. Edith earned a BA in in Art History from UH and worked in the Jenkins Library as a student shelver from 2014-2016. While a student she served as Vice President of the Blaffer Student Association and the Treasurer of the Jenkins Library Ambassadors. Edith has worked as a docent at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and as a volunteer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Lawndale Art Center. She interned in the Blaffer Art Museum’s Education Department and as an archival and curatorial assistant at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. In her new role as library supervisor, Edith will supervise the student shelvers as well as the Jenkins Library Student Ambassador program. She will also be heavily involved in outreach activities and research instruction targeted at visual arts students enrolled in the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. Edith may be reached at evillasenor@uh.edu or at 713-743-2340. Please join me in welcoming her back to UH.