A Gathering Place. A Plethora of Information. A Place for Great Minds.
The Mary Couts Burnett Library offers events and exhibits throughout the year that compliment and enhance learning, vision and interest at TCU. We are committed to bringing programs to life. The following are some of the events and exhibits hosted by the library during 2013-2014:
October 10, 2013
How the Muslim-influenced House Came to Texas
TCU Professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studies Dr. Bonnie Frederick, shared her knowledge of foreign culture in her lecture explaining how Muslim aesthetics were introduced into Spain, transforming the Roman atrium house into the veiled courtyard house. Christians in Spain adopted and adapted this style of dwelling, conveniently forgetting its roots in a rival religion. When Spaniards began implanting their culture in the Americas, they carried with them Hispano-Muslim ideas about what constituted a proper house. Today, the influence of Hispano-Muslim residential architecture is visible in many Texas neighborhoods, including those in Fort Worth. Photographs from around the Spanish-speaking world, as well as Fort Worth, accompanied the presentation.
This lecture was the kickoff to the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association. Support was provided by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Additional support for the arts and media components was provided by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
November 14, 2013
Swartz Brothers: Fort Worth's First Family of Photographers
The Library and Special Collections hosted a photo exhibition and special event highlighting illustrative examples of the Swartz brother's work. The exhibit - assembled by historian Dr. Richard F. Selcer and genealogist Donna Donnell - showcased 46 examples of the brothers' work. The Night at the Library: a discussion, book-signing and exhibit tour of the unique photography survived from the Swartz Brothers Fort Worth studio was a successful evening.
One of the Swartz brothers' best-known photographs shows the five members of the Wild Bunch: Harry Longbaugh (Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick, Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy), Will Carver, and Harvey Logan).
February 25, 2014
Creation of the new Media Art program at TCU and the introduction of emerging technologies for artists and researchers
The Mary Couts Burnett Library hosted TCU Assistant Professor of Media Art Nick Bontrager in a program, which he presented the creation of media art and the emerging technologies for artists and researchers. Bontranger shared some amazing pieces of 3-D art, a media presentation and a one-minute video created by his students using this new technology. Nick is an interdisciplinary artist whose work and research explores the physical and conceptual nature of the moving image, game-based interaction and exchanges and mankind's struggle to discover the vast unknown.
March 20, 2014
Friends of the TCU Library Annual Dinner
The Friends of the TCU Library hosted its annual dinner at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center. The evening included cocktails, dinner and a presentation about the Mary Couts Burnett Library in the twenty-first century by Todd Waldvogel, TCU Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities, and Tony Hartin, AIA, Associate Principal Hahnfeld Hoffer & Stanford, Architects/ Planners/Interiors.
April 23, 2014
Edgar S. Hamilton: Ambitions and Ideals of a Young Texas Artist
The Library and Special Collections presented Professor of Art History Mark Thistlethwaite in a program in which he showcased a collection of holdings that included letters, paintings and drawings by a little known Texas artist, Edgar S. Hamilton (1869-1903). Thistlethwaite expressed the artist's story and through his art gave a historical perspective from this young painter who declared: "I never allow myself to think otherwise than that someday I will be one of the greatest artists the world has ever seen."
April 2014
Faculty Publications Exhibit
The Mary Couts Burnett Library featured publications of TCU Faculty during the spring semester. Their published works, including books, scholarly articles, musical scores and photographs, were displayed in the library lobby. More than 50 faculty members exhibited material.