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Yards of Faith

“Living on the Somerville/Medford line, I have been fascinated by the statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and various saints that often decorate the yards in the neighborhood. In an era where one’s religious conviction is a private matter, I am drawn to these public proclamations of faith from a previous generation that is often the first on this side of the Atlantic. The shrines have been placed in commemoration of a loved one, of a promise made to God in a time of stress, or as a simple reminder of faith. Some of them are maintained with great care […]

Once More, With Feelies

When talking about digital games, we often forget the materials that surround them – and the fact that playing those games always happens by means of interacting with physical objects. This exhibition is to remind us about the variety of materiality that is present in “digital” play. Showcased objects range from supplemental materials that are sold with the game to input devices, posters and cheat codes in magazines. All of them delineate the activity of gaming by enabling, enhancing, and informing our understanding of the medium itself. Location: Entrance Case + Reading Room Case

International Tangier

Curated by Dr. Michael A. Toler Location: Main gallery Joint reception with “Retrospective”: November 17, 2016 at 7:30pm An exhibition of prints from the glass negatives collection of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies. The photographs, which have never been exhibited in the United States, date from roughly 1900 to 1930, a period that saw the city of Tangier undergoing a growth that has been unrivaled until recent decades. Not only is Tangier now seeing a radical transformation due to new construction and infrastructure improvements, but there is also a growing emphasis on historic preservation of the built […]

Elements

Location: Main gallery Opening reception: September 9, 2016 Curated by Dr. Sharon C. Smith A studio photographer by trade, Mike Walker approaches subjects with the intention of drawing something out that one might not see or notice at first glance. In the Elements series, he captures exquisite, ephemeral, and volatile qualities of scientific phenomena. These collaborative works, shot at various locations in Illinois and Ohio, began while he was on assignment at the Kent State NEO Beam facility—a four-story-tall, five-million-volt particle accelerator. In the photographer’s words: This is where I photographed Lichtenberg Figures (lightning in acrylic) for Popular Science. Each […]

Maihaugen Gallery Exhibits Archive: 2008-2014

This page lists the exhibits from 2008-2014 at the MIT Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery. Thanks for the Memory: 50+ Years of Computing at MIT March 10th – July 2014 MIT has a long history of working on analog and digital computers. This exhibit explores projects at MIT that contributed to the development of computer theory, software, and hardware in the 20th century. Stephen Dodd, Jay Forrester, Robert Everett, and Ramona Ferenz at Whirlwind I test control in the Barta Building, 1950 Noteworthy Connections: Music in the MIT Libraries February – December 2013 This exhibition explores the extraordinary connection between the MIT […]

Rotch Library Exhibit Archives: 2010-2013

Photographs of Boston by Richard Yee November 22 – December 20, 2013 Richard Yee is an award-winning local photographer who has had several one-man exhibitions and whose work has been published in “China: Fifty Years Inside the People’s Republic,” Aperture, 2000. His photographs are in several museum collections, including the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Seattle Art Museum. Streets in Hong Kong: Paintings and drawings by Alex Lui September 18 – November 18, 2013 Reception: October 1, 2013 at 6:30 pm, Room 9-450 A-B The Extreme Sport of Painting: the icy edition: Paintings by Carol Schweigert and Kathy […]

Rotch Library Exhibit Archives: 1999-2010

An Uncertain Moment Laura Rushfeldt December 1, 2009 – January 29, 2010 This exhibition provides a photo chronicle of contemporary life in Kosovo. Kosovo’s political condition and its effect on the Kosovar people is complex, ambiguous, and fluid. At best, this effect can be grasped only through examples and snapshots that provide momentary understanding. The exhibition is an attempt is to provide a lens into contemporary Kosovo through the individuals the artist met and the stories they were willing to share with her. The collection of many small stories culminated in two larger ones, the lives of Medina, an 11-year […]

Grasping Necessity: A Rodeo Portrait

Location: Rotch Main Gallery + Reading Room Columns “For these rodeo photographs, I concentrate on moments of strength, of spirit, of tenacity, wild. Most important to me are emotions that arise from interconnected relationships — animal and human forms. Racing through a timed trial. A successful ride takes practice, skill, and the endurance to simply hang on. I am mesmerized by the visceral pleasures of photographing rodeos. By the sound of pounding hooves on earth; the smell of animals; the magic of light shifting from day to night; witnessing human courage in the midst of excitement. Success for me is […]

The Great Stride: MIT Moves to Cambridge

MIT was one of the initial occupants of Boston’s Back Bay in the 1860s, but within 40 years there was little vacant acreage for the maturing Institute to acquire in the rapidly developing neighborhood. By the early 20th century MIT began to explore in earnest for a new site. This exhibit celebrates MIT’s move in 1916 across the Charles River to its current location in Cambridge. The Great Stride illuminates the people who envisioned, labored, and provided the resources to build the “New Technology,” and celebrates the three days of festivities and dedication in June of 1916 which hailed the […]