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Exhibitions > Past Exhibitions Introduction Past Exhibitions at the Library - 2008 |
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Jewett Gallery and Skylight Gallery
©1997 by Robert Sabuda 
Robert Sabuda: Travels in Time and Space features 60 colorful and fanciful illustrations and intricate pop-up books
drawn from 11 books. His work demonstrates unparalleled artistry and innovation that are sure to appeal to readers
of all ages. Sabuda is widely regarded as the wizard of pop-up book engineering. His first published pop-up was The
Christmas Alphabet (1994), followed later by The 12 Days of Christmas (1996), both of which have become best
selling holiday classics. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Commemorative Pop-up (2000), has been considered his
masterpiece. Its linoleum-block print medium adheres to the style of the original W.W. Denslow illustrations, yet the
intense visual power of the pop-up is all Sabuda’s. This exhibition was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas. 
BookWorks 2008 - This new exhibition features nearly a hundred contemporary, sometimes sculptural, unique or limited-edition books by members of the Pacific Center for Book Arts. The book arts have a long history--from the first cave drawings,
scrolls, illuminated manuscripts and letterpress printing, to more recent forms of visual expression and communication made possible by digital technology. Drawing on past traditions, but free to envision the future, contemporary book artists and craftspeople use a wide range
of book forms, materials and techniques to express their concerns as artists and inhabitants of the 21st century. The books on display are distinguished in their design, typography, illustration, hand bookbinding and printing processes and paper.
Pacific Center for Book Arts is a member-service organization committed to providing its members opportunities to show their work, socialize with other practitioners of the book arts and learn from their peers. Members include calligraphers, custom binders, printmakers,
conservators and many others. For more information, visit www.pcba.info. Sabec Family, photographed by Michael Maloney for the Bay Area Heart Gallery 
The Bay Area Heart Gallery: Connecting Hearts…Building Families - This exhibition celebrates the strength of humanity
and depicts stories of transformation. The story starts with photos of children and youth that have survived difficult circumstances
who have longed for a family of their own. It transforms into photos of families that have adopted children and youth when they
are given a chance to be a part of something permanent and important…a family. The exhibition includes approximately 50
heartwarming photographs of families and children whose lives have been brought together through adoption. Each
photograph is accompanied by a personal profile in the voice of the parents and children. This exhibition is organized by The Bay
Area Heart Gallery which is a collaboration of four member agencies that serve children and youth in foster care across the Bay Area. James Luna, Apparitions 
*Sing Me Your Story, Dance Me Home: Art and Poetry From Native California - California native stories, songs and dance take form in poetry, painting, basketry, jewelry, printmaking, photography and sculpture. Based on the publication by Heyday Books,
The Dirt is Red Here: Art and Poetry from Native California, this exhibition shares the lives, stories, songs and dances of the artists. The Sing Me Your Story, Dance Me Home: Art and Poetry from Native California exhibition tour is organized by the
California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA). The exhibition was developed in concert with Heyday Books and is made possible by generous grants from The James Irvine Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Columbia Foundation, LEF Foundation, the
Fleishhacker Foundation and The Clorox Company Foundation, the institute of Museum and Library Services. Betty Boop image courtesy of the San Francisco Public Library 
Charm School: Ill-Mannered Selections from the Schmulowitz Collection of Wit and Humor - This exhibition takes the reader on a quirky tour of the world of etiquette in our “civilized society.” In an age when politicians and pundits freely express their vulgar behavior in public,
is bad behavior just something the rest of us are forced to endure? Or can we really maintain a civil society by curbing rudeness and employing a civil demeanor? It is refreshing to note that the demise of a well-behaved society has been the subject of discourse and predictions for well over 600 years.
Society has suffered through more ups and downs in mangled manners and frightened horses, but just when we think we’re all headed to hell in a handbasket, a new etiquette book arrives to save us from ourselves. The books and materials on display demonstrate the height of incivility and a mirror reflecting
the need for a little etiquette training, but are mainly a showcase of amusing selections drawn from the Schmulowitz Collection. 
Spirit in Action - Religion is one of the most powerful social forces shaping the world. While religion may reveal differences, it also provides the basis for finding common ground. The photographs in this exhibition express the important roles that religious communities play in the 21st century and demonstrate how religion may inspire people
to make our cities more humane. From serving meals to the homeless, public demonstrations for migrant rights, to individual moments of devotion, The Religion and Immigration Project at the University of San Francisco (USF) and the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California (USC) present photographic evidence of urban dwellers’ ‘spirit in action.’
San Francisco and Los Angeles, two of the nation’s most diverse cities, boast rapidly changing religious landscapes. The religious diversity celebrated in these cities manifests itself in a commitment to serve those in need and provides a window into these complex cities manifested through the lens of photographer Jerry Berndt, who was commissioned for this project.
Berndt spent nearly six weeks in San Francisco photographing Mexican, Filipino, Salvadoran, Chinese and Vietnamese faith communities and his photographs reflect the cultural vibrancy of San Francisco as it translates into a religious social action. Dorothea Lange, Untitled, 1961, 
A Life Surrounding a Cabin: Dorothea Lange at Steep Ravine - In a departure from her Depression-era images capturing the plight of migrant farm workers, photographer Dorothea Lange reveals intimate, everyday scenes of her family and the bond
they felt with the surrounding natural environment. She described the photographs as documenting the “natural growth of the children” and the pleasure it gave her to see them “so happy and free” acknowledging how the environment at Steep Ravine (Marin) shaped the identity of
and relationships within her family. Lange (1895-1965) and her second husband Paul Taylor began leasing a small cabin at Steep Ravine in the late 1950s perched on the rocky coast of Marin County. They traveled to Steep Ravine with their children and grandchildren many
times over the years from their home in Berkeley-a short distance, but worlds away. The cabin and its environs so inspired Lange that she often spoke of creating a book of photographs exploring the sense of freedom she discovered there, but was unable to complete the project
before her death in 1965. Patrons of the Main Library will have an opportunity to share in Lange’s desire in this rare exhibition of photographs previously exhibited only once before. A Life Surrounding a Cabin: Dorothea Lange at Steep Ravine was organized by the Marin History Museum. Other Exhibition Areas in the Library
On the Yellow Brick Road: Market Street’s “Sound Money” Parade, 1896 - 35,000 people marched down Market Street on October 31, 1896 in support of “sound money” and the gold standard, protectionism
and William McKinley. This exhibition features political banners carried that day, along with press reports and political cartoons published in the months leading up to the November general election. 
Our Rights as Human Beings: The 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - In honor of the December 10, 1948 United Nations General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Library presents a unique 1949 photo display designed to explain these rights in a way accessible to all, regardless of the language you speak, along with the full text of the Declaration.
The Colorful World of Nancy Hom - Featuring children’s book illustrations in silkscreen, gouache and colored pencil.
Harvey Milk: Private Life/Public Life - An exhibition of original photographs and archival material drawn from the collections of the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center and
the San Francisco History Center that explores the life of Harvey Milk from his childhood to his days on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Highlights include family photos, love letters, candid snapshots and political papers. 
Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World - Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges facing the
world today. This exhibition communicates global warming’s impact on wildlife, especially highlighting the effect of climate
change on endangered species. Scientists predict that global warming will become a leading cause of species extinction over the
next several decades. As we work to address the impacts of global warming on humans—rising sea levels, destructive storms,
drought—we also need to protect imperiled wildlife from a warming world.
Dorothy Starr: San Francisco’s First Lady of Sheet Music - An exhibition of sheet music from the Library’s Dorothy Starr collection.
Amy Beach: Her Blissful Years in San Francisco - An exhibition of photographs, scores, sheet music and archival material focusing on the San Francisco works of classical composer Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1866-1944).
Transforming Kami: The Art of Origami - This exhibition will showcase four key fields of origami as an art form: sculpture, realism, whimsy and fantasy. The exhibit brings forth the talents of current origami
pioneers who can transform a simple sheet of paper into a beautiful origami sculpture. Image representing Girl Who Wed Another Girl Exhibition. Courtesy of the San Francisco History Center. 
Girl Who “Wed” Another Girl: Pre-1950 Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Marriages in the United States - Most San Franciscans are aware of the recent
California Supreme Court decision allowing same sex couples to wed legally. What Bay Area residents may not know is that many gay, lesbian and transgender couples wed in the United States prior to 1950.
This exhibit draws attention to several anatomically-same sex California couples who married and lived as husband and wife in defiance of legal and social conventions.
Daniela Yew’s Alphabet Series - An exhibition of a series of paintings based on the letters of the alphabet Daniela Yew has been working on since 2003.
Fresh, Fanciful and French - Original work by French artists and children’s book illustrators Olivier Tallec and Natali Fortier will be on display. Both artists work in a variety of media and genres.
Pride of the Philippine Sea: The Philippine Coral Reef - This exhibition is a display of photographs and other artifacts of the
Philippine coral reef considered by many scientists as the world's deepest and most diverse living coral reef. Images of the
environmental effects impacting the coral reef and what is being done to conserve this Philippine national treasure will also be featured. 
The Sister Republics: The Swiss Confederation and the United States of America - As nations, the United States
and Switzerland differ greatly in age, size, population and in their respective roles on the world stage, yet they enjoy
historically close ties, common interests, shared traditions and remarkable political similarities as federal unions of
independent states with representative democracies. The Sister Republics revives a like-named exhibition
conceived in 1991 by Dr. James H. Hutson of the Library of Congress to mark the septicentennial of the Swiss
Confederation. Since then, a touring version of the exhibition has appeared in many cities in the U.S. and in
Switzerland. 
*Resilience: My Culture, My People, Me! – As part of the 15th annual AfroSolo Arts Festival, we invited African American artists to explore resilience through their eyes. This exhibit is a mixed media extravaganza
illustrating the resilience in our history, our culture and our lives. AfroSolo's mission is to nurture, promote and present African American and African diaspora art and culture through solo performances and the visual and literary arts. Since 1993,
AfroSolo has provided a forum to give an authentic voice to the diverse experiences of black people. Through art, AfroSolo brings people of all ethnicities together to explore and share the human spirit that binds us all. For more information, visit http://afrosolo.org/. 
25th Anniversary of the Folsom Street Fair: Dore Alley - This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Folsom Street Fair, the
world’s largest leather/fetish event which goes beyond the distinctions of gender and sexual orientation. This exhibit will focus on
the Up Your Alley Fair (aka Dore Alley, where the event takes place). Although a younger offshoot of the Folsom Street Fair, Up
Your Alley attracts over 12,000 local leatherfolk and few tourists, it is considered a less commercial and very authentic San Francisco event.
Pages Unbound - This exhibition will be a display of the collective talent of the pages from the 3rd floor, sharing different forms of artwork such as photograph, painting, sculpture and so on. 
Beijing Welcomes You! - In the summer of 2008, Beijing will host the XXIX Olympic Games.
This photo exhibit is an open invitation for games participants and visitors to get to know about
Chinese history and culture, to experience the glorious celebration of the Olympic spirit in China
on an unprecedented scale, to see the tremendous changes that have taken place in this
great country and to be touched by its people’s passion and dedication. These works are courtesy
of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco. “Unemployed Men sitting on the sunny side of the San Francisco Public Library” by Dorothea Lange. Feb. 1937. Courtesy of the San Francisco History Center 
75th Anniversary of the New Deal – 
Patently Beautiful: 10 Decades of Innovation for the Sake of Beauty - A look at patents from each decade of the 20th century representing the technological march forward in the world of beauty products. Often familiar and occasionally absurd,
these drawings, taken from original United States patents illustrate the innovation behind the products that have helped define the concept of beauty in the United States in the last 100 years. 
One Story at a Time: The Rebuilding of the International Hotel and the Memory of Manilatown - A series of photographs and
artifacts illustrating the history and the rebuilding of the International Hotel and the memory of San Francisco’s Manilatown. 
Bayview Hunters Point Presents: Real Fatherhood - A photographic journal of neighborhood fathers with their children, in celebration of Father’s Day.
3-D Stories - the ceramic art of Berkeley artist Helen Canin. See which of the famous characters from children’s literature you recognize! 
*Spirituality Photo Project by Black Brothers Esteem - With dramatic photography and compelling text, 16 members of Black Brothers Esteem document for the entire
San Francisco community their search for and in some cases creation of spirituality in a world that too often abandons, even condemns them. This project showcases their soul-searching, their solidarity, their courage
and ultimately just how important their spirituality is to their mental and physical health. Black Brothers Esteem is a prevention and support program designed to empower men who live predominantly in the
Tenderloin/Polk Gulch and Sixth Street corridor sections of San Francisco. These men struggle not only with issues related to HIV, but also with racism, addiction, poverty, homophobia, violence and marginal housing conditions.
You Must Be Mistaken: Photographs by First Exposures - The students of First Exposures, San Francisco Cameraworks photography mentoring program for low-income youth, explore the idea of what it means to be misunderstood and misrepresented. You Must Be Mistaken features work created using a multitude of photographic processes from cyanotype to digital imagery.
The students’ work incorporates text and multi-layered concepts to approach this deeply personal theme. 
41 Years/42 Photos: A Retrospective - Dennis Maness is now in his 41st year as a librarian at San Francisco Public Library. For this retrospective, he has chosen to include a single photograph taken during each of the years he has worked at the
library, 1967-2008. Most of these photographs have not been displayed before and demonstrate the different kinds of subjects he has photographed over the years – a few portraits, things and people he just stumbled across as he walked in the city and spanning his travels here and abroad.
Welcoming the Olympics: An Exhibition of Paper Cutouts Depicting Traditional Chinese Sports - Chinese people have created and cherished many popular art forms and paper cutouts are one of them. With brilliant skill, a plain piece of paper can be
transformed into a fascinating artwork. As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, we are proud to present you with a series of 19 paper cutouts on traditional Chinese sports and games. These games, just like paper cutting, are popular and enrich people's lives of different
ethnic groups in China. We can find traces of some of these games in the modern Olympics. These works are courtesy of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco.
Realia - An exhibition by emerging artists, architects and designers from The California College of the Arts. In the spirit of the 17th century “Cabinets of Curiosity” the participating artists and designers have undertaken journeys of discovery
in the diverse collections housed in the San Francisco Public Library. They have spent the last month delving into the collections in the San Francisco History Center, Rare Books, Music, and Periodicals Collections, to name a few. What they have discovered has inspired
them to create new works in response to their explorations. The participating artists and designers work in diverse media and approach their subjects from a variety of viewpoints, creating an exhibition that is as diverse as the collections that inspired it. 
Unveiling of the San Francisco/Bay Area Homicide Quilt - This exhibition is presented, in part, to honor the Rev. Cordell Hawkins, who developed the quilt as a way to offer emotional support to the families of homicide victims.
Bob Barner Collage - Local collage artist and children’s book illustrator Bob Barner displays his work and process. Included is this year’s Dia de los Niños/Dia de los Libros poster.
Dance It! – Dance and Information Technology - See the world of dance in a new way! This interactive digital media installation features varied dance styles from many cultures and allows participants to get in the act. Presented by the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education, in collaboration with University of California, Irvine Media Arts specialist, John Crawford. 
Seen in San Francisco - An exhibition of bird photographs by Grace Ruth.
Light the Passion, Share the Dream: 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Display - Featuring an official torch that was run in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Relay, along with a few book covers of books on the Olympics from the library collection, a map showing the route of the torch relay, etc.
River of Words - A related exhibition of original artwork from Bay Area winners and finalists of the annual River of Words Poetry and Art Contest for youth.
Pisco: “Miracle and Benison” - Pisco Punch was long associated with San Francisco, but the roots of this brandy-based drink are in Peru. This small exhibition of books and photographs traces the history of the Punch in San Francisco and presents historic descriptions of the Pisco, Peru region, which was devastated by earthquake last year. 
Chinese New Year Woodblock Prints - The Chinese New Year Prints (Nián Huà in Chinese) are a time-honored art form of significant standing among the many traditional folk arts in China. New Year Prints often use subjects and motifs reflecting historical and social themes, village and town life and people’s aspirations and beliefs.
Prints courtesy of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco. 
Transformation and Appropriation: The Eccentric Art of Diallo - An exhibition of 10 acrylic paintings by local artist Diallo. 
Emilie Valentine. Courtesy of the artist.
Timeless San Francisco and Timeless Cities – A Two-Floor Exhibition - The sixth floor exhibit cases include local photographer Emilie Valentine’s contemporary photography integrated with San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection’s photographs and San Francisco History Center’s ephemera and realia depicting San Francisco lifestyle and entertainment.
The fourth floor exhibit cases present city settings, city landscapes and city life blended with samples of Emilie Valentine’s American urban images. The exhibit highlights the Art, Music and Recreation Center’s books and periodicals of photographers’ perspectives of urban life and landscape throughout the last 70 years. The sixth floor/fourth floor exhibition promotes and
foregrounds San Francisco History Center and Art, Music and Recreation Center’s collections while partnering with a community art member, Emilie Valentine. The collaborative exhibit promotes independent learning and highlights the world class collections of San Francisco Public Library.
Inspirations of Kit Wilson’s Ceramic World - Obsession with shapes and texture is what gives meaning to Kit Wilson’s work. Her work often reveals the uneasy relationship between the tangible and the fleeting. In several of her pieces, she has tried to understand the relationship of concrete structures to the people and environment that surround them.
Black Inventions - R. J. Reed presents replicas of some of the most well-known and some not so well-known inventions by Black Americans. Educators, community leaders and parents – this is a wonder field trip opportunity not to be missed. |
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