Collins Unbound

Memory Lame,
Exhibit open October 22–January 25, Collins Library.

A multi-faceted installation by Jessica Spring and Scott Gruber, “Memory Lame” focuses on retention and loss of memory, and our collective knowledge. As humans we employ many memory aids—from digital apps to old-fashioned mnemonic devices—to readily access facts we need. Derived from the Greek mnēmonikos and related to Mnemosyne, the mythological goddess of memory, mnemonics make use of encoding, retrieval cues and imagery to better retain information. Ancient Greeks identified two types of memory: “natural” is inborn and used instinctively; and the other “artificial,” which one can train and develop. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often used for lists and in auditory form, such as acronyms or memorable phrases, but mnemonics can also be used in visual or kinesthetic forms.

Elements of the “Memory Lame” installation incorporate repurposed salvaged library journals and handmade paper. Abaca fiber is both strong and translucent, and includes a memory of its own formation, revealing papermaker’s tears and areas of waves that appear like wrinkles. Recycled journals—rendered replaceable with digital surrogates—serve a new purpose while still in their library setting. These materials take physical form in the river of forgetfulness, the fountain of knowledge, and a memory palace surrounded by mnemonic devices that connect with our collective knowledge.

“Memory Lame” was funded with assistance from the Tacoma Arts Commission, and the Morgan Conservatory. Supported and funded by the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound.
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Jessica Spring learned to set real metal type in 1989 and has been a letterpress printer ever since, most recently inventing Daredevil Furniture to help other printers set type in circles, curves and angles. Her work at Springtide Press—artist books, broadsides and ephemera—is included in collections around the country and abroad. She also collaborates on the Dead Feminists broadside series with illustrator Chandler O’Leary. Their book, “Dead Feminists: Historical Heroines in Living Color” is available from Sasquatch Books. Spring has an MFA from Columbia College Chicago and teaches book arts at Pacific Lutheran University.

In the early 1980’s Scott Gruber received formal training in how to see, understand what is being seen, and how to create objects & spaces that enhance what other people see. He earned a BFA in Sculpture from St. Cloud State University which translated to more than three decades of creating functional and non-functional three-dimensional art, ranging from jewelry, interior accessories, water features, totemic sculptures, and entire landscapes. Squeezed into this timeline is the operation of a commercial poultry and sheep farm which ended in 2017, and the ongoing nursery operation specializing in culinary and therapeutic plants. Under the name Calendula Farm & Earthworks, Scott feels very fortunate to get paid for playing in the dirt with rocks & sticks & things.

Tomorrow, September 20^th, is our first “Behind the Archives Door” event of the year! Join us to explore the Egge Collection on China, which contains materials dating from 1987 through 1990, collected by Claire ’57 and Don Egge ’55, two Puget Sound alums who lived and taught in China during the late 1980s. The collection is centered on the democracy movement in China in 1989. It contains newspaper clippings, maps, pamphlets, government policy publications, and posters. Generally, the collection is useful for examining aspects of Chinese life and culture including education, politics, and economics. A lot of the collection consists of English-language newspapers from China, so you don’t have to be able to read Mandarin to take advantage of this collection!

For this event, we will be focusing on the documents specifically relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which were part of a larger democratic movement in China. On June 4, 1989, students protested against Deng Xiaoping’s decision to minimize the funeral of a top government official, Hu Yaobang, who had supported the democratic movement. The Chinese government suppressed the protest using armed force, which led to civilian casualties.

Dr. Anthony Clark of Whitworth University, who will be giving the talk, specializes in East Asian history with a focus on late-imperial China. His research centers on the interactions between China and the West in China. Previously, he has worked with the Egge Collection transcribing some of the student posters.

To learn more about the Egge Collection and to hear Dr. Clark’s perspective on the collection and the Tiananmen Square protests, come to the Archives Seminar Room on the second floor of the library from 3:00-4:00 PM, Thursday, September 20. We’ll see you there!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Julia Masur

Join Collins Library for an informal series of reading hours and drop-in making sessions on Tuesday evenings 5:00-6:00pm in the Archives & Special Collections and the Makerspace!

9/25      Race & Identity Reading Hour @ A&SC
Get to know the Collins Library Zine Collection and browse zines related to this year’s Race & Pedagogy National Conference

10/2      Intro to Zines @ Makerspace
Come for a brief history of zines and learn how to make a one-page zine on 8.5 by 11 paper, create and share

10/23    Social Justice Reading Hour @ A&SC
Passionate about a social justice issue? Come browse our zine collection to discover new ideas and perspectives on an issue that matters to you.

10/30   Zine Design @ Makerspace
Fundamentals on page layout, design, and simple binding techniques + space to practice with your own creation

11/6      Self-Care Reading Hour @ A&SC
Need some time to reflect and relax? Explore our zine collection to find materials that are mindful, inspiring, and sometimes even funny.

11/13   Collaboration and Work Space @ Makerspace
Bring in an in-progress project and make! In our last drop-in hour we will print, cut, and finalize your zine.

Behind the Archives Door event:
Dennis Flannigan, former Washington state legislator and pioneering Tacoma community leader, will be visiting the Archives & Special Collections to discuss his time at Puget Sound and his experience as a civil rights worker in the 1964 Freedom Summer campaign in Mississippi. In the Fall of 1964, Flannigan wrote a series of letters to his friends at Puget Sound and they were published in The Trail as a series titled “Letters from Mississippi.” Join us to hear Flannigan reflect on his past of civic engagement and peruse documents from Puget Sound’s past.

Veritas Editions Introduction
Veritas Editions is honored to present the Puget Sound Book Artists the story of our journey in Fine Press Artist Book Editions. Veritas Editions is dedicated to the beauty in truth, and the truth in beauty. Formed in 2015 by photographic artist Craig Alan Huber, Veritas Editions’ goal is to communicate the message of truth through the publication of premium limited editions of combined word and image. As we live in an increasingly digital, texture-starved world, Veritas Editions strives to bring that texture back into our lives with fine prints, papers, and materials matching the raison d’être of each publication.
The goal is to treat the artists as equal partners in such endeavors. We employ a novel funding approach for the production of these hand-crafted editions, one akin to that of a Co-Op, in which the artists as a collective and Veritas Editions each contribute equally to the cost, and each share equally in the profits.
Works from Veritas Editions are in permanent collections including the Vatican Library, the Huntington Library, the National Steinbeck Center, Carmel Mission Foundation, Stanford University Special Collections, UC Berkeley Bancroft Library, four State Libraries of Australia, the Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain; and in private collections throughout the US, Mexico, Europe, and Australia.