Three New Exhibitions Open this Week
Rick Riordan, Dagoberto Gilb, Louise Erdrich, Tim O'Brien
Among the Season's Esteemed Authors and Speakers
SAN MARCOS, TX —The week of January 23, 2012, marks the beginning of the spring calendar at the Wittliff Collections with the opening of three new exhibitions from the permanent holdings. Coming up between now and May are more than a dozen events that include readings, book signings, presentations, and a major literary symposium. Details for the following exhibitions and events, as well as hours, directions, and more, are posted on the Wittliff Collections website. The Wittliff Collections are located on the seventh floor of the Alkek Library at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Admission is free and open to the public.
Rick Riordan’s World of Myth & Mystery is an exhibition honoring the New York Times #1 best-selling author of several young-adult series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians; the Kane Chronicles; and the Heroes of Olympus; as well as author of the first book and storyline creator of the 39 Clues. He also wrote the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults—set in his hometown of San Antonio. Riordan was a schoolteacher for fifteen years before becoming a fulltime writer. In recognition of his distinctive achievements and inspirational impact on readers young and old, the Wittliff Collections present this exhibition showcasing the Rick Riordan Archive—now one of the major holdings at the Wittliff—to which the author has been generously donating since 2004. Among the objects on view are Riordan’s early journals, unpublished manuscripts, and his first rejection letter (received as an eighth grader), book proposals, story ideas, and materials that illuminate his working process, such as hand-drawn plot maps. Numerous photographs, letters, and other artifacts testify to the phenomenal worldwide appeal of his Percy Jackson series. One highlight is the original sword, “Riptide,” used in the 2010 film adaptation of The Lightning Thief. May 2012: A special event with Riordan is being planned—details will be posted to the Events calendar on the Wittliff’s website. Rick Riordan’s World of Myth & Mystery, curated by Steve Davis with assistance from Kenneth Fontenot, closes July 15, 2012.
Timeless Mexico: The Photographs of Hugo Brehme, celebrating the newest volume in the Wittliff Collections’ photography book series with UT Press, features over 100 of Hugo Brehme’s masterful photographs of early twentieth-century Mexico. One of that country’s first modern photographers, Brehme focused on iconic subjects ranging from the Mexican Revolution to scenic landscapes, colonial architecture, and the everyday life of indigenous peoples. Included are his vintage real photo postcards and hand-tinted photographs published in Timeless Mexico: The Photographs of Hugo Brehme by Susan Toomey Frost, a longtime Brehme expert. Frost donated her major collection of the photographer's work to the Wittliff in 2009. Saturday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m.: The exhibition reception and book party will feature Timeless Mexico author, Susan Toomey Frost, and Dennis Brehme, grandson of Hugo Brehme, as guest speakers. Books will be sold at the event, and a signing with Frost, Brehme, and the author of the foreword, art historian Stella de Sá Rego, will follow the program. Attendees are asked to RSVP to thewittliffcollections@txstate.edu. Exhibition closes August 5, 2012.
Face to Face: Portraits from the Photography Collection, an exhibition of more than 50 photographs by 35 photographers, brings viewers face-to-face with a study in humanity—from the famous to the homeless—in portraiture from the Wittliff Collections’ permanent holdings. Among the images of authors, artists, and ordinary people, musicians, cowboys, and revolutionaries are icons Che Guevara by Rodrigo Moya, Georgia O’Keefe by Yousuf Karsh, Willie Nelson by Annie Leibovitz, Horton Foote by Keith Carter, Frida Kahlo by Héctor García, and Texas State Distinguished Alumnus George Strait by Michael O’Brien. The exhibition presents traditional portraits, candid images, and a variety of environmental and creative approaches. Conventional darkroom printing, tintype, and other processes are represented in works by Jayne Hinds Bidaut, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Ave Bonar, Earlie Hudnall, Graciela Iturbide, Robb Kendrick, O. Rufus Lovett, Lee Marmon, Jeff Wilson, Dan Winters, Kathy Vargas, Will Van Overbeek, Laura Wilson, Bill Wittliff, and many others. Exhibition closes August 5, 2012.
(Above: Frida Kahlo hugging one of her xoloitzcuintles, Coyoacan, Ciudad de Mexico, 1952 by Héctor García)
In addition to the exhibition programs, this season the Wittliff Collections once again feature a line-up of national award-winning authors reading and discussing their work and signing books. Together with Texas State’s English Department, the Wittliff Collections welcome Richard Siken, Elissa Schappell, Louise Erdrich, Tim O’Brien, and Cyrus Cassells to the podium, as well as Texas State’s MFA students who will read from their personal poetry and fiction. Dagoberto Gilb stops on a tour for his new book, Before the End, After the Beginning, short stories written in the wake of a stroke he suffered in 2009. Texas State geography professor Jim Kimmel talks about his newest book, Exploring the Brazos River: From Beginning to End. A symposium, Voces Y Memorias: The Rolando Hinojosa & Arturo Madrid Literary Celebration, will feature readings by Rolando Hinojosa and Arturo Madrid as well as a discussion between the authors about the craft of writing from a minority perspective moderated by Carmen Tafolla, who will also act as a participant. A book signing with all three writers will follow the program. Event dates and details are online.
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