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Kai Alexis Smith, Architecture & Planning Librarian, kaias@mit.edu
Matt Saba, Program Head, AKDC, mdsaba@mit.edu
Rebecca Bramlett, Instruction & Outreach Archivist, Distinctive Collections, bramlett@mit.edu
Rami Alafandi, Collections Curator, AKDC, alafandi@mit.edu
Amanda Hawk, Public Services Manager, Distinctive Collections, ahawk@mit.edu
Jana Dambrogio, Thomas F. Peterson (1957) Conservator, jld@mit.edu
Ariana Rutledge, Conservation Associate, arianar@mit.edu
Hand painted water color paintings on mylar polyester film. The imagery is amorphous and reminiscent of NASA photos of distant skies: an inexact illustration of space and the goings-on out there. Illustrations from the Walters MS73 and photographs and artists’ renderings from NASA’s social media Instagram account related to 20th and 21st-century astrophysics served as visual sources. Allusions to constellations and planetary paths through space are scattered throughout the book.
Aga Khan Documentation Center, Department of Distinctive Collections, MIT Libraries
Talsmanic shirt 39 x 33 inches., enclosed in a cloth-covered box 12 x12 x 2 inches. Cyanotypes on fabric, paper, and maps sewn on cotton cloth.
The Tapestry of Dreamweaver is an artist's book that delves into the realm of dreams and the transformative power of talismanic shirts and constellations. It serves as a visual exploration of the interplay between the ethereal world of dreams and the tangible symbols of protection and empowerment found in talismans. The artwork takes the form of a talismanic shirt, crafted using a collage of cloth and paper adorned with imagery of shirts, constellations, and their mystical beliefs. The book showcases a unique collection of cyanotype prints on both paper and fabric, featuring a distinctive array of texts, sacred invocations, symbols, magic squares, and seal markings. The incorporation of cyanotype prints imbues the illustrations with an ethereal quality, capturing the spiritual significance embodied by these sacred garments. The piece is elegantly presented in a box, featuring a one-of-a-kind cover design that draws inspiration from constellations and sacred texts.
Jule Gregory Charney (1917-1981) was an active contributor to theoretical meteorology and in the field of numerical weather prediction. He earned a BA in mathematics and physics in 1938 from UCLA, an MA in mathematics in 1940, and a PhD in meteorology in 1946. During World War II he assisted in the training of weather officers for the armed services at the Army Air Forces Training School at UCLA. In 1956 Charney came to MIT as professor of meteorology and director of the Atmospheric and Ocean Dynamics Project. In the quarter of a century until his death, he continued to make contributions to the theory of ocean currents, atmospheric wave propagation, large-scale hydrodynamic instability, hurricanes, drought, and atmospheric blocking ridges.
Thomas Parker Williams
2010
This multi-part artist book constructs a virtual ocean wave by using sequential random numbers and a simple mathematical formula. The virtual wave is represented as it would appear in nature from two perspectives: A 3D paper model and a reduction linocut print. The pull-out three-dimensional paper model has thirty-two sequential paper wave cross-sections. A multi-color linocut print is a pictorial representation of the cross sections.
To establish the physical characteristics of this wave, the artist used data and formulas from a classic work on wave forecasting developed after World War II. The linocut print image is based on the 3D model and augmented using written descriptions of actual wind conditions as well as reference photographs from the Beaufort Wind Scale. However, the linocut image does not exist in photographic form.
Request to view from the catalog.
Medieval Arabic grimoire. The text is arranged into thirty chapters which include sections on alchemy, natural magic, demonology and ceremonial magic and there are specific instructions on the construction of magical rings and amulets, magical lamps, devices for divination, incenses, medicines, dyes, as well as commentaries on blood sacrifices.
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Julie Chen
2008
Panorama explores the issue of climate change from Chen’s artistic perspective, simultaneously expressing hope and helplessness in the face of this growing crisis. Opening to a full width of 5 feet, This book engulfs the reader/viewer in an experience both moving and surprising with large format pop-ups and interactive folded sections that interlace personal thought with aspects of a more universal reality.
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In 1992, MIT President Charles Vest spoke at the opening of a symposium hosted by MIT’s Center for Global Change Science called “The World at Risk: Natural Hazards and Climate Change.” The same year, the United Nations adopted a convention on climate change instructing members to support climate change mitigation activities as well as to prepare for adverse effects of a changing climate globally.
Sarah Bryant & David Allen
2015
Data visualization as an artist's book. This book is a collaborative project between artist Sarah Bryant and David Allen, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Middlebury College. They used estimates prepared by the US Census Bureau to create population pyramids for every region, then paired them up to create abstract human forms. They write: “Although we carefully graphed all of the available information, it was initially collected using a variety of different methods. The data is a combination of accurate reporting, biased self-description, out-of-date or incomplete reports, and best-guess projections by Census Bureau demographers. It is a flawed narrative drawn from our combined and often conflicting desires to give a truthful and exact account and to tell a story about ourselves.”
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Dorothy Yule
1996
Accordion style with pop ups. Artist Dorthy Yule recalls her early years as a young scientist when she was fascinated with the subject. She wanted to understand how the universe worked, what made things tick, where everything came from.
Winner:
Librarian's Choice Award in 2012 juried exhibition "Infinite possibilities"
Distinguished Book Award from the Miniature Book Society in 2013
Meggendorfer Prize for Artist Books from the Movable Book Society in 2014
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Francis Bitter (1902-1967) joined MIT in the fall of 1934 in the Department of Mining and Metallurgy. He designed a high field magnet through the use of water-cooled copper coil electromagnets. By 1938 MIT had a magnet laboratory established largely through Bitter's efforts. His early experiments succeeded in creating a solenoid magnet that produced a constant field of 100,000 gauss. Bitter also collaborated with George Harrison on the use of new magnets for investigations of optical phenomena, the Zeeman effect in particular. Another project involved the study of the connection between magnetism and geology; this work helped to reconstruct the history of the earth's magnetic field.