Seed catalogs, Minnesota beginnings, the Green Revolution, and the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible among topics covered in upcoming U of M Libraries exhibits
Media Note: Images of each exhibit are available on request
Contacts: Marlo Welshons, University of Minnesota Libraries, welsh066@umn.edu, (612) 625-9148
Preston Smith, University News Service, smith@umn.edu, (612) 625-0552
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 4/5/2011 ) -- The University of Minnesota Libraries announce the following slate of exhibits opening over the coming year in the galleries of Andersen, Wangensteen, and Wilson Libraries. All exhibits are free and open to the public. Dates and times for any opening receptions will be listed as they are scheduled at lib.umn.edu/events/.
Seed Stories: Catalogs of Life and Gardens in America
Now through May 15, 2011: Reedy Gallery and Andersen Horticultural Library, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
August 1 - October 28, 2011: Andersen Atrium Gallery
Seed and nursery catalogs have long used beautiful images to entice customers. Dozens of selections from Andersen Horticultural Library's rich collection of 57,000 catalogs are a testament to their research value as well as their beauty. Stories of local characters, including three Minneapolis seedswomen, regional pioneers, and colonial innovators give a more intimate look at the life and gardens surrounding these publications.
Headwaters of History
April 20 - July 15, 2011: Andersen Gallery
Explore the headwaters of our state's history and witness the ripple effect that people, institutions, and culture have had on the arts, literature, society, and business. From award-winning authors to individuals making a difference; from organizations for social change to multinational corporations, this exhibit documents Minnesota's contributions to the region, the nation, and the world.
Take Two Lyllie Rootes and Call Me in the Morning: Botanicals and Medical Receipt Books in 17th Century Domestic Medical Care
May 15 - September 15, 2011: Wangensteen Library
In pre-industrial times, those ailing often turned to wives of local landowners or wise women who were knowledgeable in the use of plants to create medicines. Recipes were passed down in families, shared with physicians, and recorded in receipt books along with other household information like the care of livestock. This exhibit presents Mary Pewe's books of receipts, complied circa 1630-1690 in England, alongside botanicals that illustrate many of the plants used in the production of her medicines.
Resonance: 21st Century Art Students & the Commerce of the Ancient Mediterranean
May 23 - August 15, 2011: T.R. Anderson Gallery
Oxhide ingots were used in Bronze Age trade--possibly as currency, but certainly as a means of shipping copper for use in the manufacture of bronze. This exhibition pairs images, casts, and molds from a student project to reproduce the processes to make these ingots with materials from the James Ford Bell Library, which is dedicated to documenting the history and impact of international trade before circa 1800.
Minnesota Roots of the Green Revolution: A Legacy of Greatness
July 26 - October 21, 2011: Andersen Gallery
If Norman Borlaug was the father of the Green Revolution, its grandfather was E.C. Stakman of the University of Minnesota's Plant Pathology Department, which was created in 1907 to combat the devastating cycles of crop-destroying wheat stem rust that
periodically threatened the state's economy. Plant Pathology became the premier program of its kind, attracting generations of brilliant young scientists whose work saved millions from starvation worldwide. This exhibit will showcase the rare and unique agriculture records from the University Archives' Green Revolution collections, including the Borlaug and Stakman papers.
Classified! Naturalists on the Voyages of Discovery
August 29 - November 18, 2011: T.R. Anderson Gallery
Swedish Botanist Carl Linnaeus is considered the father of modern taxonomy--the finding, describing, and naming of species. Seventeen of his most promising students became known as his Apostles, and he sent them out into the world to collect and organize new plants, animals, and minerals according to his own classification system. This exhibition features work by Linnaeus himself, as well as that of others intent on drawing European attention to the natural world.
The Literature of Prescription: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and "The Yellow Wall-Paper"
September 18 - October 29, 2011: Wangensteen Library
In the late 19th century, women were challenging traditions that excluded them from political and intellectual life as medical experts drew on notions of female weakness to justify inequality between the sexes. This traveling exhibit from the National Libraries of Medicine features artist and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who was discouraged from pursuing a career to preserve her health. Her famous short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper" indicts the medical profession and social conventions restricting women's professional and creative opportunities.
Winter Holidays in Children's Literature
November 1, 2011 - January 28, 2012: Andersen Gallery
Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, and the New Year's holidays will be explored through picture books, series books, and original art from the Children's Literature Research Collections. Highlights will be Clement Moore's The Night Before Christmas and the many artists who have illustrated Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, including some who have interpreted the poem through a specific ethnic lens.
The Word Made Flesh
November 28, 2011 - February 24, 2012: T.R. Anderson Gallery
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, this exhibit will feature examples of biblical texts, including medieval manuscripts and facsimiles. Highlights will include two leaves from the 42-line Gutenberg Bible; the original New Testament portion of the King James Bible; other early printings such as the Geneva Bible and the "Breeches" Bible; and related works stemming out of the Reformation such as publications, broadsides, and pamphlets from Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and others.
Gallery Locations and Directions
Andersen Gallery is located on the first floor of Elmer L. Andersen Library; the Andersen Atrium Gallery on the second and third floors.
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
hours and directions: andersen.lib.umn.edu/visitors.html
The T.R. Anderson Gallery is located on the fourth floor of Wilson Library, at the entrance to the James Ford Bell Library.
309 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
hours and directions: wilson.lib.umn.edu | lib.umn.edu/bell
Reedy Gallery and Andersen Horticultural Library
Both are located at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
3675 Arboretum Boulevard
Chaska, MN 55318
hours, fees, and directions: www.arboretum.umn.edu
Wangensteen Library
The Wangensteen Library is located on the fifth floor of Diehl Hall.
505 Essex Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
hours and directions: hsl.lib.umn.edu/wangensteen/about/location

