April 14 - May 31, 2011

Contact: Thomas Moore
Director of Arts Management
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

Note: This release is available as a pdf file.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents Sleeping Beauties: Memorial Photographs from the Burns Collection, on display from April 14th through May 31st. On Thursday, April 14th at 4 p.m., Stanley Burns, author of three books on memorial photographs, will give a public lecture, "Photographing the Dead: A Process of Love, Remembrance, and Grieving."

Since the invention of photography, people have taken and used photographs of the deceased to celebrate memories of loved ones and to mitigate the finality of death. Such images, known as memorial photographs, are special mementos with deep meaning for mourners.

From early daguerreotypes to contemporary images, Sleeping Beauties showcases over one hundred examples of memorial photography, revealing the diversity within this photographic practice. Considered individually or together, the images on display in this exhibition encourage contemplation of the ways in which individuals and cultures respond to death.

Remarks by Tom Beck, Chief Curator, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery
One of the defining images in this exhibition is the tintype of a father lovingly holding an uncomfortable looking child. The father is well-dressed and has an air of invincibility that is undermined only by outsized, swollen fingers. His one hand rests demonstratively on his knee and the other in a claw-like position distended beyond his son's clothing rather than affectionately clasping the child. The image does not cry out that either father or son is deceased, but the father's fingers are so unnatural that one soon realizes that he is dead. This portrait, likely the only one ever made of the two together, emphasizes familial relationship and love as motivations behind the image. In varying degrees, love, relationships, and grieving more than death, are the central characteristics of this exhibition.

Another characteristic of the show, also as represented by the portrait of the father and son, is the changing technology of photography. The portrait is a tintype, a relatively affordable process in 1875 when the image was made. Represented in the exhibition are various tintypes, but also a whole spectrum of photographic processes from the 1840s to the 2000s, including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, albumen prints, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, silver gelatin prints, and digitally generated permanent pigment prints. The exhibition is a veritable history of photography as seen through memorial photographs. Revealed is that the look of death has not changed over time, only the way that it is represented.

The show is organized by themes, including "Adults," "Children," "Sleep," "Family and Rituals," "Remembrances," "Images with Images," "Eyes Open," and "Decorative Displays." Each section is sequenced historically to tell a story about the topic from the earliest to the latest images. The father and son portrait, for example, is in the section labeled "Adults," because it is the father who is deceased. The section on "Children" tugs at one's heartstrings so much perhaps because the images show cute, vulnerable little ones full of human potential not to be realized. The "Sleep" section shows attempts to make the dead look like they just happen to be napping. (In the nineteenth century, death was frequently described as "the long last sleep.") Images of the spent bodies of children with their eyes closed promote the illusion of sleep as the children are laid out so naturally in carriages or on beds.

Additional sequences include the "Family and Rituals" section which shows immediate and extended family members posed with the deceased, usually in their coffins. These images, of course, would be the last photographs of the family all together. The "Remembrances" section includes memorial poem cabinet cards (sometimes with photographs on them) and memorial ceramic photographs often used on memorial markers. The Images with Images" section shows photographs with images of a deceased one in them, or photographs with images associated with someone who is deceased. This section will fascinate iconologist's, because the images surrounding those of the dead often comment on and have especially telling relationships to the dead. The "Eyes Open" section highlights images that attempt to make the dead look natural and somewhat as they did in life. Finally, there is the "Decorative Displays" section which shows photographs of memorial centerpieces that represent a way of setting off an image or expressing a reverence for the deceased. Some decorative displays images are commercial, such as the one for Abraham Lincoln. The imagery was intended for public consumption for viewing in one's parlor. Others, such as "Tower of Silence," were intended to be sold to tourists as they visited monuments to the dead. Finally there were those with the words "Pater," or "Sister" which were for personal and family purposes.

Photographs have three lives. The first life is the immediate purpose for which the image was made. In the case of memorial photographs, the image provides a record of the deceased, a way to express love and relationship for that person, and to serve as part of the grieving process. The second life of a photograph is as recent past nostalgia. Friends and family can look back over time and remember the deceased as well as good times that were had together. The third (and perhaps the most important life) is as a communication over the generations. Long after there is no one alive who remembers the deceased, memorial images communicate to viewers that the person lived and was regarded highly enough in life that people wished to remember them after death. Also memorial images teach succeeding generations that all humanity is related to each other and are the same in death. Perhaps most of all, memorial photographs confer upon the dead a kind of immortality. Long after they are gone, the deceased continue to live on in images. This exhibition is about all of these things.

Gallery Information
The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery serves as one of the principal art galleries in the Baltimore region. Objects from the Special Collections Department, as well as art and artifacts from all over the world, are displayed in challenging and informative exhibitions for the University community and the public. Moreover, traveling exhibitions are occasionally presented, and the Gallery sends some exhibits on tour to other institutions nationwide. Admission to the Gallery and its programs is free.

Acknowledgements
The presentation of this exhibition is supported by an arts program grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support comes from the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts & Sciences, the Friends of the Library & Gallery, the Libby Kuhn Foundation, and individual contributions.

Hours
Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri: 12 pm - 4:30 pm
Thursday: 12 pm - 8 pm
Sat/Sun: 1 pm - 5 pm

Telephone
General Gallery information: 410-455-2270

Web
UMBC Arts & Culture Calendar: http://www.umbc.edu/arts
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/gallery/
UMBC News Releases: http://www.umbc.edu/news

Images for Media
http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/

Directions
UMBC is located approximately 10 minutes from downtown Baltimore and 20 minutes from I-495.
-- From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage.
-- From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage.
-- From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage.
-- Daytime metered visitor parking is available in the Walker Avenue Garage. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days.

Gbagbo OUT Ouattara IN! Monumental turn of events in Ivory Coast, for better or worse?

They’re Baaaack! U2 beats the Rolling Stones record for biggest grossing tour … EVER.

Only in Qatar.  A man pays $3.7 million for 55555 license plate.  Well, its better than 666!

Thanks to Miss France

They’ve done it folks! After years of deliberation, the French government has finally banned the public use of the Burka,a traditional muslim veil, effective Monday April 11.

Anyone wearing the burka or niqab in public will be “fined up to $216 and a citizenship course.” And to enforce this law, men who are caught forcing women to wear a veil will face a much steeper punishment of up to $43,400 in fines and prosecution.

To complicate matters, immigration minister and architect of the ban, Eric Besson (who once described a burqua as a “walking coffin”)  is reported to  have a Muslim Tunisian girlfriend who is more than half his age.  Besson is allegedly considering suing a news website that speculated about his possible conversion to Islam.

Muslims in France are less than certain about the the burqa ban …. ok, they are outraged!

If the protests on Saturday and the peaceful demonstrations on Monday are any indication, this is going to be a long difficult battle.

On Saturday, 61 people were arrested in Paris, 19 of which were women.  And attempting to join the party was Anjem Choudary, a member of the outlawed Islam4UK.  He was arrested along with two other Muslim radicals.

On the first day of the ban, two women wore their burqas in defiance of the new law and were arrested NOT for veiling their face BUT for an unauthorized protest! It seems the French government is still confused about its own law.

“I’m not here to provoke, but to defend my civil liberties as a French citizen,” said Drider, one of the veiled protesters on Monday.

Taking creativity to a new level, some Muslim women in France are planning on wearing medical masks in order to get around the law.  Others have simply left France, which is the 1st country to “bring a ban on face-covering veils.”  Although nearly a year ago Belgium passed a similar ban, it has failed to enforce it.

Even more alarming are Al-Qaeda’s massive threats to attack France following the introduction of the ban.  Like many Muslim communities abroad, they are not buying Sarkozy’s fight against the “debasement of women” so passionately stated in his state of the nation address last year.

It is curious, odd, and some would say a little incriminating that Sarkozy would support this ban just a year before a national election. 60% do not support Mr Sarkozy according to a recent Paris-based poll. But France’s current political atmosphere seems to be anti-immigration.  So it appears Sarkozy may be using the ban as a good political opportunity to boost his popularity.

Just something to think about.  Could the ban spread to the UK, Italy, and even the US?

Have you ever slipped your favorite “text slang” into casual conversation? Embarrassing, right?

Don’t worry. You were just being a vocabulary pioneer.

According to this article from BBC, LOL has made it’s way into the Oxford English Dictionary alongside similar expressions FYI and OMG.

We at USDemocrazy urge you to use caution when using these expressions in your English papers, but fully encourage you to use them to get ahead in Scrabble games.

What do you think? Are you ready for “text slang” to be on your Word of the Day calendar?

What: Google Search Tips Workshop
When: 12:00 – 12:30pm, Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Where: LIB 259

In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to use a variety of search tools available in Google that allow for more effective and efficient searching, including advanced search, filters features, command search and more. In addition, you will learn how to connect Google Scholar to UMBC library resources.

if you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Shu Qian at qian@umbc.edu.

www.flickr.com UMBC New Media Studio's Multimedia Literacy Lab Spring, 2011 photoset

MCS101L, Multimedia Literacy Lab, is a one-credit course offered in two sections. The class is taken in conjunction with MCS333. Students were given 6 story prompts to choose from for their final digital story projects.

Final Projects

First Project

The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued an alert for UMBC alumnus Matthew VanDyke ’02, political science, who has gone missing in Libya. He is one of 15 journalists currently missing or in government custody in Libya.

Read the full story here and please share.  Keeping Matthew in the public eye is important!

Dissertation Defense

Towards Relational Theory Formation
from Undifferentiated Sensor Data

Marc Pickett

10:00am Monday, 18 April 2011
ITE 325b, UMBC

Human adults have rich theories in their heads of how the world works. These theories include objects and relations for both concrete and abstract concepts. Everything we know either must be innate or learned through experience. Yet it's unclear how much of this model needs to be innate for a computer. The core question this dissertation addresses is how a computer can develop rich relational theories using only its raw sensor data. We address this by outlining a "bridge" between raw sensors and a rich relational theory. We have implemented parts of this bridge, with other parts as feasibility studies, while others remain conceptual.

At the core of this bridge is Ontol, a system that constructs a conceptual structure or "ontology" from feature-set data. Ontol is inspired by cortical models that have been shown to be able to express invariant concepts, such as images independent of any translation or rotation. As a demonstration of the utility of the ontologies created by Ontol, we present a novel semi-supervised learning algorithm that learns from only a handful of positive examples. Like humans, this algorithm doesn't require negative examples. Instead, this algorithm uses the ontologies created by Ontol from unlabeled data, and searches for a Bayes-optimal theory given this "background knowledge".

The rest of the dissertation shows in principle how Ontol can be used as the "workhorse" for a system that finds analogies, discovers useful mappings, and might ultimately create theories, such as a "gisty" theory of "number".

Committee:

• Tim Oates, Associate Professor, UMBC
• Tim Finin, Professor, UMBC
• Rob Goldstone, Professor, Indiana University
• Sergei Nirenburg, Professor, UMBC
• Matt Schmill, Research Faculty, UMBC