This Semester's Events and Exhibits at Mann Library
Exhibits
Miniature Landscapes: Photographic Adventures with a Borescope January - February 27, Mann Gallery, 2nd floor
The Mann Gallery's January/February exhibit features the fungal photography of Kent Loeffler, who uses a fish-eye-lens-on-a-stick device called a borescope to reveal the small-scale majesty of the oft-reviled organisms. Loeffler, who has been the photographer for the Cornell Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology for the past 23 years, captured the borescope images in this exhibit to illustrate the Cornell Mushroom Blog (http://hosts.cce.cornell.edu/mushroom_blog/), a teaching and outreach project of Professor Kathie Hodge.
Woodchucks in Watercolor: The "Wild Bill" Hamilton Groundhog Card Series by Jack Lambert, February - March, 1st floor display cases
To the cold northeastern regions of North America, the month of February can bring thick blizzards, dangerous ice storms, sudden thaws, driving rain, and bone-chilling plunges back into deep winter. No wonder, then, that this particular month also opens with Groundhog Day, that eccentric yearly attempt to create some measure of predictability out of February's weather mess. For professor emeritus Jack Lambert and the late Cornell mammalogist William J. Hamilton, this absurd American tradition offered the perfect opportunity to play up the legendary sense of humor for which Dr. Hamilton is still remembered by his old students and colleagues. A late winter exhibit at Mann Library displays a selection of groundhog cards, dating back to the 1960s, that Professor Lambert created for his friend and former teacher. Light, humorous, and informal, these Cornell gems recall a little of the life and times of a much admired and fondly remembered life sciences scholar.
Student Expo Series: Art of Horticulture: March, Mann Gallery, 2nd floor
An exhibit of work by students of Hort 201, "The Art of Horticulture," led by Marcia Eames-Sheavely.
Never Mind the Pussycat: The Ornithological Art of Edward Lear, March 15 - May 15, Mann Library Lobby
Most of us know Edward Lear as the author of The Owl and the Pussycat, and the well-loved Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets. He made his living, however, as a landscape painter, and as young man was an accomplished natural history illustrator. As this year's National Poetry Month exhibit at Mann Library, this display focuses on the ornithological lithographs Lear produced in the early 1830’s, some when he was still in his teens. The images are extraordinary − meticulously accurate, and brimming with personality.
Student Expo Series: Mapping, Metaphor and Materiality, April - May 15, Mann Gallery, 2nd floor
An exhibit of work by students of Art 372 led by professor Kelly Dobson.
Viniculture in New York: State of the Art, June - September, Mann Lobby
In conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Wine & Grape Archive being celebrated by the Rare and Manuscript Collection of the Cornell University Library, Mann Library will host an exhibit on new developments in New York viniculture. From exciting research developments at Cornell and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y. to changes in local landscapes being etched by the thriving wine industry, Mann’s exhibit will offer a state-of-the-art update and full-color visual tour of what’s happening with New York wine grapes.
Student Expo Series: Designing the Urban Eden, July - August, Mann Gallery, 2nd floor
An exhibit of work by students of Landscape Architecture / Horticulture 492 led by Nina Bassuk and Peter Trowbridge.
Events
Opening Reception for Miniature Landscapes
January 29, 5pm. Remarks by Kathie Hodge, Dept. of Plant Pathology
"Fungal Outbursts," a presentation by Kathie Hodge and a reception will open the new exhibit by nature photographer Kent Loeffler. Free and open to the public. Rodent Societies: An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective
The Cornell eClips Collection: Bringing Voices of Business, Entrepreneurship and Leadership into the Classroom
March 11, 5:30pm, Room 102. Talk by Deborah Streeter, Dept. of Applied Economics and Management
Today's YouTube, iPod and related technology is fostering a powerful communication world that is all about sharing personal stories in mobile, digital environments. Deborah Streeter has spent the last decade using the best of these new approaches to bring the authentic voices of entrepreneurship, business and leadership into the classroom. In this presentation, she'll share how rich media (video and audio) works to connect the Cornell campus with the outside world Using her interviews with leaders in business, government, and nonprofits, Streeter has created a collection of over 10,000 video clips and more than 40 podcasts that are reaching users in more than 1100 universities and 75 countries. During the presentation, you'll see examples of her work, hear about how students are impacted by the clips, and learn more about what’s in store for the future for eClips.
The Audubon Society Guide for Attracting Birds: Creating Natural Habitats for Properties Large and Small
March 12, 4pm, Room 160. Book talk by Stephen Kress, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Owners of properties of all sizes can attract a greater number and variety of birds by planting vegetation in a manner that mimics natural plant communities. In a talk on his newest publication, The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds (2nd edition), Stephen Kress will discuss how native plants attract birds with sweet fruits in the summer, fatty foods just in time for migration, fruits high in carbohydrates over the winter, as well as nesting sites and shelter from extreme weather in all seasons. Specific “how to” tips cover planting the proper mix of native fruiting and flowering plants, creating brush piles, water pools, and hedges, encouraging cavity-nesting birds, attracting hummingbirds, and making your backyard habitat a safer place for birds. The symbiotic relationship between birds and natural plantings will also be a key highlight of the presentation: While a rich mix of native plants provides critical food and shelter for bird life, hundreds of native tree, shrub, vine and ground cover species rely on birds to distribute the seeds away from the parent plant. Property owners and stewards of gardens large and small are warmly invited to come learn how properly nurtured native plant communities can create thriving, beautiful natural landscapes filled with color and bird song the whole year through.
In celebration of National Poetry Month: Poetry Reading by Franklin Robinson
April 10, 4:00pm, Room 102
In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, Frank Robinson (Director, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art), will read a selection of his haiku and poems. Reading held in conjunction with Mann's National Poetry Month exhibit: Never Mind the Pussycat: The Ornithological Art of Edward Lear.
Saving Forests, Protecting People? Environmental Conservation in Central America
April 22, 4pm, Room 102, Book talk by Max Pfeffer, Dept. of Development Sociology
For decades now, calls to conserve rapidly disappearing forest lands around the world have been urgent, but official programs for forest conservation have been unevenly successful at best. A “Chats in the Stacks” talk coinciding with this year’s international Earth Day at Mann Library will look at key factors behind these mixed results. In a recent book co-authored with John Schelhas, development sociologist Max Pfeffer undertakes a comparative study of forest conservation areas in Costa Rica and Honduras to analyze what happens when globally driven conservation programs encounter local communities using resources to earn livelihoods. Central to the study are the values that local communities hold in relation to their forest environments, how these values change with socio-economic developments, how they engage with international campaigns to conserve forest biodiversity, and, against this backdrop of dynamic change, how such values in turn shape farmers’ stewardship of their forest lands. The study suggests that while local livelihood patterns and international conservation programs often conflict, it is also true that farming communities can and do foster forest-conserving values that hold considerable potential for sustaining diverse forests over the long term.
The Research Paper: Reception and poster session
April 25, 3-5pm, Mann Lobby
In celebration of The Research Paper, Cornell's only journal reporting on undergraduate research. Reception, poster session, entertainment, and door prizes.
