Item of the Week:Wonder, the Rainbow, and the Aesthetics of Rare Experiences

This photograph was too good not to share. At the perfect place at just the right time, Library Assistant Sara Mason caught this double rainbow over the Chrysler Museum one Saturday afternoon. It’s a wonderful image – one that got us thinking about what amazing things rainbows are. Fleeting, it’s hard to see one without stopping to take a long second look. In his book, Wonder, the Rainbow, and the Aesthetics of Rare Experiences, Philip Fisher explores this effect – a combination of pleasant surprise and curiosity that philosophers throughout history have labeled “wonder”. Specifically, Fisher embarks on his discussion by tracing the history of curiosity about rainbows. How, he asks “did the combination of pleasure and puzzlement in the face of rainbows lead to a scientific explanation” of this phenomenon? Weaving together science with philosophy, art history, and poetry, Fisher’s point of view is not quite what you would expect – he argues against the more common suggestion that familiarity breeds contempt and that explanation leads to a loss of innocent wonder. Whether you agree or disagree with Fisher, I think we all must admit that “wonder” is an important part of the experience here at the Chrysler Museum – it’s that special something that gets us to stop and take a second look in the galleries or to pause and pull a book off the shelf that wasn’t really what we were supposed to be looking for. Wonder, the Rainbow, and the Aesthetics of Rare Experiences is in the Library. If you have a chance, stop by and take a look - who knows what other wonderful things you might find?

Item of the Week: So many Salomes...

Recently we noticed that there were quite a few versions of the story of Salome in the Library's collection.

Salome, the woman depicted as dangerous in the Bible and depraved by Oscar Wilde, has captured the imaginations of artists and writers for nearly two thousand years. Is it the dark nature of her story that has led so many to dedicate their time to its retelling? In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Salome is a girl who dances for Herod Antipas on his birthday. He is so taken with her that he offers her anything she likes. Under her mother’s instruction, the girl requests the head of John the Baptist on a platter, which the sad king feels compelled to deliver.

Salome has become a staple subject for artists. In paintings by Titian, and much later by Moreau, Salome is treated as evil cloaked in innocent beauty. The figure of the girl, especially when depicted with the head of John the Baptist, becomes representative of depravity and excess. Moreau takes the story one step further, brushing off its Biblical origin in favor of shading the story as a piece of mythology. He treats Salome herself, with whom Moreau was quite taken, as a sort of captivating witch. In the late 19th century, Aubrey Beardsley created the famous pen and ink sketches for Oscar Wilde’s version of “Salome,” a twisted version of the Biblical tale. Beardsley’s affection for costume and dramatic line makes his pieces just as a memorable as Moreau’s haunting “Salome in the Garden.”

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library houses at least five editions of “Salome,” including a 1900 publication of Aubrey Beardsley’s drawings. We will also be glad to show you versions of the Salome story as depicted by Moreau, Titian, and two different editions of the play by Wilde.

- By Library Assistant Sara Mason

Friends of the Library Annual Meeting - Wednesday May 27 at 6 p.m.

Next Wedesday, May 27, the Friends of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library will hold their Annual meeting beginning at 6 p.m. A brief business meeting will be held followed by a presentation featuring the accomplishments of the Friends in 2008-2009 and some highlights of recent Library acquisitions and improvements. Refreshments will follow. We hope to see all members of the Friends of the Library there!

Interested in learning more about the Friends of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library? Established in the early 1980s, to promote community support and interest in the Library, The Friends of the Library raise funds for special Library projects. You can find out more information here.

Speaking of new acquisitions...

Speaking of new acquisitions, yesterday afternoon the Library received our copy of the latest edition of NEUES GLAS/NEW GLASS [Nr. 2, 2009]. If you haven’t seen it yet, it features a number of recent acquisitions into the Chrysler Museum’s contemporary glass collection – including works by Klaus Moje, Toots Zynsky and Josiah McElheny among others. These vibrant pieces pop off the page in Museum Photographer Ed Pollard’s photographs. When you have a moment, stop by the Library and take a look!

Item of the Week: Sacred Light: Stained Glass Windows of Southeastern Virginia

One of the great benefits of each new exhibition at the Chrysler Museum is an influx of new resources for the Library. As you may have noticed from recent posts to this blog, Art of Glass II has certainly been no exception with fresh books, DVDs and other informative sources about glass coming in almost daily. The Library’s collection has grown considerably in the areas of contemporary glass, the science and processes behind glassmaking, and monographs about individual glass artists. This week’s item highlights a new and much needed look at one aspect of glass in our area. Sacred Light: Stained Glass Windows of Southeastern Virginia by art historian Nenette Arroyo and photographer Bill Tiernan focuses on stained glass windows in houses of worship throughout the region. Published by the Virginia Arts Festival, this informative volume guides readers on a tour of the stunning stained glass in churches and synagogues around Hampton Roads. Well researched and beautifully photographed, Sacred Light is sure to encourage and enable readers now and for year to come to visit these inspiring works of art and to appreciate them as true treasures that are shared by our community.

Item of the Week: Class of 1897 Photograph

May, for many means graduation ceremonies. As students around Hampton Roads don mortar boards and graduation robes, we thought we’d highlight an item from the Jean Outland Chrysler Library’s collections that gives us a peek at commencements past. This photograph of the poised and beruffled Class of 1897 comes from a scrapbook in our Rare Book collection. Donated in the late 1940s by alumnae of the Norfolk College for Young Ladies this unique album collects photographs of class presidents and materials from each commencement ceremony at the school between 1882 and 1899. Class photos are also included of several senior classes between 1887 and 1899. The Norfolk College for Young Ladies was founded in 1880 as a private boarding school for women. The school stood in the area of Norfolk that today is known as College Place, and in fact, gave this area its name. Courses in everything from calisthenics to latin offered increased educational opportunities for women in Norfolk at a time when few options were open to them. With the expansion and improvement of public education for women, however, the Norfolk College for Young Ladies experienced financial difficulties, closing in 1899. The Alumnae of the school continued to support women’s education in Norfolk for many decades, offering scholarships to William and Mary and Randolph-Macon.

While on the subject of graduations, we’d like to extend congratulations to all of the graduating students who we have worked with in the Library this year. Particular felicitations are due to Library Assistant Sara Mason, who will graduate May 9 from Old Dominion University with a B.A. in English.