February 2012 Archives

As part of a cluster of art and educational events exploring "The Mystery of Van Gogh," an etching by Vincent Van Gogh will be on display Tuesday, March 6 at James Branch Cabell Library.The print will be on view in Special Collections and Archives on the Fourth Floor from 2 to 4 p.m.

This 1890 etching, "Man with a Pipe (Dr. Gachet)," is part of VCU Anderson Gallery's permanent collection. It was donated to the Gallery in 1974.

Van Gogh expert Dr. Cliff Edwards, a professor of philosophy and religious studies in VCU's School of World Studies, will talk about the print, its creation and its connection to VCU at 3 p.m.

The VCU Libraries event is one of several Edwards has organized. The mercurial and brilliant Van Gogh created and then destroyed two paintings of Jesus in Gethsemane. These mystery paintings done at the height of his creativity were critical to the direction Van Gogh's art would take for the final two years of his life. Edwards will discuss those paintings and their significance for the future of art in two lectures. Edwards, has taught at VCU since 1975 and has written three books on the spiritual search of Van Gogh and is at work on a fourth about his ghost paintings.

• March 2: First Friday opening of an invitational exhibit at the Art6 Gallery, 6 East Broad St. Artists in all media developed works that reconstructed the destroyed painting or responded to Van Gogh's creation or destruction of that work.   
• March 4: The Pinkney Near Memorial Lecture in Art History, Art6 Gallery, 4 p.m. Edwards will discuss the ghost paintings. 
  
• March 6: Van Gogh etching on display, Cabell Library, Special Collections and Archives, 2 to 4 p.m. Edwards speaks at 3 p.m.  
• March 7: 2012 Powell-Edwards Lecture, VCU Student Commons, 7 p.m. Edwards will speak and show images related to a book in progress, "Van Gogh's Ghost Paintings." A reception will follow. Van Gogh Events Web site
  
  Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear, January 1889 

Expressions of the science of art made to inform and the art of scientific illustration are on view March 8 through September 28 at Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University.

INTERSECTIONS: ART AND SCIENCE. is curated by James Miller, chair of VCU's Department of Communication Arts, and organized by VCU Libraries' health sciences library on the MVC campus. Event Web site

The exhibition includes human anatomy: structural, muscular and anatomical drawings of the figure. Images in various media and digital technologies include plants, animals, insects, microorganisms, surgical procedures and animations.

"These artists' objective is to observe, draw, describe and reveal the majesty and wonder of our subject matter with the insight and vision of an artist and the acuity of a scientist," says curator Miller.

Works are by students, alumni and faculty of the Scientific and Preparatory Medical emphasis area. In 2006, the Department of Communication Arts created this academic focus area to prepare students for careers as scientific illustrators and for advanced study in the field of medical illustration.

Fitting for a university with both world class arts and medical schools, the VCU program is among a few in the nation. Students gain the skills and knowledge to produce images that present complex scientific and/or medical information for the purpose of explaining and understanding scientific, technical ideas, concepts, principles and facts.

"Students develop the ability to accurately interpret and portray the real and the abstract, fact and conjecture with either extreme precision or interpretive expression as required by the content," says Miller. "Observation and critical thinking are key to being a scientific or medical illustrator."

Participating artists are:

Students:

• Austin Anderson: "Insect Study," watercolor on paper
• Grace Huddleston: "Arm Study," graphite on paper
• Emily Bradfield: "Bone Study 1," and "Bone Study 2," graphite on paper
• Caitlin Johnston: "Artichoke," digital print
• Mary Carter: "Insect Study," watercolor on paper, "Phalaenopsis Orchid," digital print, "Feather Study," watercolor on paper, "Observatory," acrylic on panel, and "Chicken Heart Study," acrylic on panel
• Lucy Koo: "Figure Study," graphite on paper
• Jessica Foley: "Squid Dissection," watercolor on paper
• Lori Panico: "Cicada Study," watercolor on paper
• Juliana Phung: "Female Figure," graphite on paper.

Alumni:

• Anastasia Demson: "Portrait of a Hand II," graphite on paper, and "Performing an Emergency Cricothyrotomy," digital print
• Lauren Conroy: Animations entitled "Revolving Skulls and Endocasts," and "Bacteria World"
• Don Di Fiore: "Fish Head Study," watercolor on paper, and "Mouse," ink and watercolor Vinh Chau: "Open Clam," watercolor on paper, "Pompano Dissection," ink and watercolor on paper, "Hawk," ink and watercolor on paper, "Vulture," ink and watercolor on paper, and "Cricket," Prisma markers and graphite on paper
• Suzanne Ghuzzi: "Pedicle Graft," digital print, "Fontanelles: A Guide to an Infant's Soft Spot," digital print, "A Closer Look at Foliculogenesis," digital print, "Acute Otitis Media," digital print, "Chelydra serpentina: The Common Snapping Turtle," digital print, "Culex pipiens: The West Nile Virus Vector," digital print.

Adjunct faculty member:

•  Sarah Faris: "Laparoscopically Assisted Right Hemicolectomy," graphite and digital media, "Hands," graphite on paper, "LBWC," digital print, "Hip Bone," carbon dust on paper, "Muscles of the Pharynix," digital print, "Malaria," digital print, "Lumbar Surgery," digital print.

"Their illustrations suggest the beauty in the complexity of science and medicine," says Tompkins-McCaw Director Teresa L. Knott. "My aspiration for the attendees is that they come away with an appreciation of the amazing talent of those affiliated with this unique arts program and a broader vision of medical and scientific illustration and how it might be used. I believe that the exhibit will stimulate conversations and cooperation between the Monroe Park and MCV campuses."

Medical illustration is far more than art just for art's sake. Graduates are in demand for scientific, medical and biomedical visualization artwork in teaching, in digital and textbook illustration, as well as in patient and consumer health education. Artists with this specialty are hired for medical legal illustration, pharmaceutical advertising, web design, medical iPhone/iPad applications, to name a few. New digital imaging technologies and 3D interactive applications enable the scientific and medical and biomedical visualization illustrator to animate and employ movement and sequential imaging. These advanced technologies make possible imagery and special visual effects that are changing, expanding, and enriching the possibilities of the discipline and the way we learn and teach medical and scientific concepts.

The public is invited to attend an opening reception on Thursday, March 8, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. RSVP for the reception at www.support.vdu.edu/event/intersections. If special accommodations are needed, please contact Thelma Mack at (804) 828-0017 or mackta@vcu.edu. The exhibition will continue through September 28, 2012. The Tompkins-McCaw Library Gallery is at 509 North 12th St. on the MCV Campus. It is open to the public during regular library hours. 

The February student-run TV news program features items about an exhibition and expanded hours at James Branch Cabell Library. (These clips appear 22 minutes into the broadcast.)

Walk-In Research and Writing Clinics are designed to help anyone optimize their research and writing performance-- undergraduates, graduates, faculty and staff. Anytime the clinic is open, a librarian and writing consultant are available for one-on-one assistance on finding library resources and working through the writing process. Drop in for quick questions or in-depth discussions. The clinics are co-sponsored by VCU Libraries and The Writing Center.

Clinic Schedule Spring Semester
Multipurpose Room, room 250, James Branch Cabell Library

• Tuesday, Feb. 28, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 29, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 6, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 7, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 20, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 21, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 27, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 28, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 3, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 4, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 10, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 11, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 17, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 18, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 24, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 25, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

For more information 

Writing Center workshops

Laptops are the No. 1 item that patrons borrow from VCU Libraries. Now, a new wave of electronic tools is available for check-out.

• Apple iPads: three-day loan; Available at the Circulation and Information Services desk in Cabell Library and the Service desk at Tompkins-McCaw Library
• Nook Color e-readers: seven-day loan. Available at Cabell Library
• Kindle e-readers: seven-day loan. Available at Cabell Library 
  
• Sony bloggie 3D digital cameras: seven-day loan. Available at Cabell and Tompkins-McCaw Library
  

The overdue fine rate is $25 per day. For instructions and details

Article in The Commonwealth Times gives more detail


 

A commentary piece by VCU Libraries' 10th Annual Black History Month lecturer, advertising pioneer Tom Burrell, was featured Feb. 12, 2012 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The article

VCU Libraries hosts "From Broadway, With Love," a performance by VCU music students Gianna Barone and Denver Walker, noon on Tuesday, Valentine's Day, first floor, Cabell Library. The show is part of the "A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs" exhibition.

Classically trained vocalist Barone and guitarist Walker will perform a selection of classic love songs from the American Songbook, including "They Say It's Wonderful" by Irving Berlin, "Bewitched" and "My Funny Valentine" by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and "Hello, Young Lovers" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.

This event is free and open to all.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch Feb. 10, 2012 reported about construction and future building on campus. The article
 

The Feb. 10 workshop on open access publishing will not be held. The next "Open Access Scholarly Publishing for Faculty" will be held March 23 at 3 p.m. at James Branch Cabell Library, room 319.

The workshop will be conducted by Dan Ream, VCU librarian and past president of the VCU Faculty Senate.

As journal subscription costs have increased dramatically, fewer and fewer libraries can afford every journal that is needed, including some that are considered prestigious and essential. Faculty worldwide, especially in the sciences, but also increasingly in the social sciences and humanities, have responded by creating and publishing their research in open access, peer-reviewed journals that charge no fee to their readers. Faculty senates from Harvard to Berkeley to the University of Virginia have endorsed open access publishing for their faculty.

This one-hour session will introduce faculty to this revolution in publishing of open access, peer-reviewed journals and demonstrate how to locate them in almost any discipline, as well as discuss the potential benefits of worldwide free access to faculty research. Options for faculty retention of copyright will also be discussed.

This workshop will be held in library classroom/lab 319 on the third floor of Cabell Library. No advance registration is necessary. Address questions to Dan Ream, or call 828-6545 for more information.