New & Noteworthy

New Political Posters from Ganzeer

Submitted by smacleod on Mon, 08/17/2015 - 13:46
We recently acquired five posters from the Egyptian artist Ganzeer. He was part of the political and revolutionary street and graffiti arts community that played such a key role in the Egyptian revolution. One of the most important contemporary street and graphic artists working today, with an incredible design and color aesthetic, his posters and murals have been shown in recent exhibits in Berlin, Hawaii, New York, and Philadelphia.

The Complete Zap Comix

Submitted by smacleod on Fri, 07/10/2015 - 17:13

Zap Comix is one of the most artistically important comic book series ever published. In Zap, eight unique and gifted artists shared a revolutionary goal. R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, Spain Rodriguez, Gilbert Shelton, Robert Williams and (later) Paul Mavrides contributed to major changes in comic book design and content. Issue #0 came out in 1967, and issue #16 in 2014.

Remembering Chancellor Peltason

Submitted by spcoll on Thu, 03/26/2015 - 08:49
It was with great sadness that the staff of Special Collections & Archives heard the news of Jack Peltason’s passing. Although most staff members never met him in person, they came to know him through his collections housed in the Special Collections and Archives Department. Jack Peltason joined the faculty of UCI as Dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences in 1963 while the campus was still in the planning stages. He was named second vice chancellor of academic affairs in 1964.

Not your ordinary Leprechaun!

Submitted by kspring on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 17:23
Soon the celebration of St. Patrick’s day will be here and the color green will enliven our pancakes, beverages, and – down in San Diego especially, our eggs. And while the hue of the Emerald Isle lends a festive note to the day, historically some of the visual symbols associated with the modern day feast have differed. For instance, did you know that the Leprechaun hasn’t always worn a green jacket replete with golden clasps and buckles? According to Fairy and folk tales of Ireland, edited by W.B. Yeats, the Leprechaun wears red!

A Scandalous Love Affair

Submitted by kgallon on Thu, 02/12/2015 - 14:48

In light of Valentine’s Day, UC Irvine’s Special Collections & Archives would like to highlight a noteworthy love affair from our British Naval History Collection. This love affair was between the famed Admiral, Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton.

Teeny tiny artists' books

Submitted by christik on Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:32

Peter and Donna Thomas are a couple of wandering artists who chronicle their adventures in their handmade books. Donna and her friend, Katy McLaughlin, trekked the John Muir Trail in 2002, which spans approximately 210 miles through California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. Their 29-day trip inspired several artists' books in which they hike from Yosemite Valley, through the High Sierras, and summit Mt. Whitney. [slideshow_deploy id='3105']   Peter makes the paper by hand, while Donna hand paints and binds the books.

The J. Hillis Miller Papers Now Open

Submitted by abisio on Thu, 11/06/2014 - 17:39
The papers of J. Hillis Miller, world renowned literary critic and a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature her at UC, Irvine, are now open for research in Special Collections and Archives. Miller was a member of what has been called the “Yale School” of deconstruction, which included Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Harold Bloom, and Geoffrey Hartman. He began teaching at UCI in 1986 and was a member of the Critical Theory Institute. I have had the privilege of getting to know this great thinker through his personal and professional writing.

Duke Ellington’s only opera "Queenie Pie"

Submitted by smacleod on Fri, 07/18/2014 - 12:18
Special Collections and Archives has a little known and rarely performed score of Duke Ellington’s only opera Queenie Pie. Ellington began work on the composition he called a “street opera” in 1962. He had just received a commission from public television station WNET in New York for an hour-long broadcast. The broadcast didn’t materialize, and in 1971 Ellington decided to expand the effort into a full-length production. He worked closely with librettist Betty McGettigan until Ellington’s death in 1974, but the work remained unfinished.