Category Archives: Work

A Look at Tucson’s Cultural & Architectural Treasures/ Exhibition and Program (2012)

Exhibits and Events, Work, , , ,
Promotional material designed by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries

A List of materials used in this exhibit

This exhibit was housed in the Main Library. I enjoyed putting it together. Dr. Brooks Jeffery graciously agreed to give a lecture on the architecture of Tucson. It was a fun project.

Happy Birthday Tucson: A Look at Tucson’s Cultural and Architectural Treasures

This exhibit celebrates Tucson’s 237th birthday. It includes a selection of books and other items about Tucson,  and a variety of materials on music and architecture. The section on classical music features music programs going back over 100 years, plus photos of the Temple of Music and Art and the original Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The mariachi music section features local musicians, including Lalo Guerrero, Linda Ronstadt and Los Changuitos Feos as well as other local groups and singers. Featured in the architecture section are a number of churches, including the San Xavier mission. A special section is devoted to photos taken of the Fox Theatre back in the 1930s by the Campbell and Pereira Studios.  Included is the original program for the opening of the movie, Arizona, for which the Old Tucson movie set was built. Most of the materials on display are either from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz or from Special Collections.

Mexican Music in Tucson

Mexican music has long been a staple of Tucson’s cultural life. Today,  the Old Pueblo is known as one of the premiere centers for the study and performance of mariachi music, which is taught from the primary grades through the college level in many of the schools in the region. In addition, every April,  hundreds of students from throughout the country  gather here to participate in the Tucson International Mariachi Conference to learn music from some of mariachi’s top musicians, such as Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, and Tucson’s own Mariachi Cobre.  Tucson is also the hometown of the legendary  Lalo Guerrero and Linda Ronstadt.  Los Changuitos Feos, one of the nations’s first  youth mariachi groups,  was formed in Tucson in the early 1960’s, and is still going strong. The recordings featured in this exhibit are all of local musicians and are from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz

Classical Music in Tucson

Tucson’s love for European art music goes back over 100 years. Some of the genre’s greatest orchestras and conductors have graced the stages of the Tucson Opera House, the Rialto Theatre, The Tucson High School auditorium and the Temple of Music and Art (shown in the photo on the right). The Tucson Symphony has a long standing history in the community and the photo in this exhibit is of the original group, founded in the 1920s. The Saturday Morning Music Club, a group of enthusiastic classical music supporters, was for a long time the primary force behind providing the community with rich musical  experiences. The programs featured in this exhibit are from UA Special Collections.

Religious Architecture and Sculpture  in Tucson

Over the years, Tucson has been home to a number of beautiful church buldings, the best known of which is the San Xavier Mission, a National Historic Landmark which  was founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Contruction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. A renovation of the structure and interior was recently completed. It is truly a Tucson treasure!

More churches of Tucson

The Fox Theatre

Originally budgeted at $200,000, the Fox Theatre would eventually cost $300,000 including furnishings. Designed as a dual vaudeville/movie house, the Fox featured a stage, full fly-loft, and dressing rooms beneath the stage. The combined effects of “talkies” and the Depression limited the opportunities for live performance, and the dressing rooms were never completed.

Opening night, April 11, 1930, proved to be the biggest party the small community of Tucson had ever seen. With Congress Street closed and waxed for dancing, four live bands, a live radio broadcast and free trolley rides Downtown, the party was one not to be missed.Those lucky enough to have bought tickets in advance—3,000 or so people—enjoyed the show inside as well as out. The film “Chasing Rainbows,” a MovieTone short, and a Mickey Mouse cartoon were well received by both audiences that evening, and the Fox Theatre began its 40 ­year life as the center of Tucson’s entertainment world.

The photos in this exhibit, taken in the early 1930s,  are from the Campbell and Pereira Collection, housed in Special Collections. The program to the movie, Arizona, is  from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz.

Architecture in Tucson

Tucson has a number of beautifully constructed buildings. Featured here are The Pioneer Hotel building, The Geronimo Apartments building, The Pima County Courthouse, the El Conquistador Hotel and the Santa Rita Hotel, as well as a number of private residences and postcards of hotels. For more information on Tucson’s architecture, see  A Guide to Tucson Architecture, by R. Jeffery Brooks and Ann M. Nequette. (Science-Engineering Library and Special Collections NA 735.T8 N46 2002). 

Judith Chafee: Iconoclast /Exhibition (2018)

Architecture, Exhibits and Events, Work, , , ,

Exhibit curated by Bob Diaz, Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries

Promotional material designed by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries

Monday, January 22, 2018 – 9:00am to Friday, July 6, 2018 – 6:00pm

Special Collections

The University of Arizona Libraries

Introduction:

Putting this exhibit together was a labor of love. I started out knowing very little about local architect, Judith Chafee, but learned a great deal from organizing her papers, which are housed in Special Collections, and working with her assistant, Kathryn McGuire a local architect and co-author of the book, “Powerhouse: The Life and Work of Architect Judith Chafee. As I poured over her work looking for material to include in the exhibition, I came to the realization that Chafee was an artistic genius, well ahead of her time. She was the first woman to graduate from Yale’s architecture program. She finished at the  top of her class, and won prestigious awards along the way. A highlight of the whole experience for me was meeting Chafee’s daughter and granddaughter, who made a special trip to Tucson to see the exhibition. They were very impressed by it. It made me feel just great knowing that they liked it. All that work I had put into this project paid off! Attendance at both of the events that were held in conjunction with the exhibit was beyond my expectations, and both were very well received. This exhibition was one of my favorites.

From the UA News Service:

A remarkable American architect, Judith Chafee was a true trailblazer, both as an architect par excellence, and as a woman in a male-dominated profession. She is celebrated as a visionary modernist whose structures harmoniously blend with their host environments.

This exhibit highlights key events and projects from her life and work. Materials will include photographs, drawings, artwork and more. 

A sample exhibit section
Judith Chafee with one of her many pets
“The Architect: Judith Chafee”, story by KUAZ, available for viewing in the exhibit lobby..

For more information see:

“Judith Chafee: Geographical Powers”. January 23, 2018. Program held in conjunction with the above exhibit.

“Judith Chafee: Breaking Barriers in a Man’s World”. March 13, 2018. Program held in conjunction with the above exhibit.

The Judith Chafee Papers Page–Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries

The Judith Chafee Papers Collection Guide

Powerhouse: The LIfe and Work of Judith Chafee

Christopher Domin and Kathryn McGuire, authors

“Powerhouse is the first book on the singular life and career of American architect Judith Chafee (1932-1998). Chafee was an unrepentant modernist on the forefront of sustainable design. Her architecture shows great sensitivity to place, especially the desert landscapes of Arizona. Chafee was also a social justice advocate and a highly respected woman in a male-dominated profession. After graduating from the Yale University Architecture School, where her advisor was Paul Rudolph, she went on to work in the offices of legends including Rudolph, Walter Gropius, Eero Saarinen, and Edward Larrabee Barnes. In addition to her architectural legacy, her decades of teaching helped shape a generation of architects. Chafee’s drawings and archival images of her work are complemented by stunning photography by Ezra Stoller and Bill Timmerman”. –from the Princeton Architectural Press site.

It was very nice of Kathy McGuire to mention me in the acknowledgements section (see below) of the book. I learned a great deal from her during our visits, and without her guidance the exhibition would not have been as informative and interesting as it turned out to be.

1968 in America / Exhibition (September 4, 2018-December 7, 2018)

Exhibits and Events, Work, , , , ,
Exhibit banner and poster designed by Marty Taylor, UA Libraries.

My most recent and last exhibit for Special Collections was a look back at 1968, 50 years later. I was only 9 years old at the time, but remember the era vividly. I had a brother in Vietnam, and two of my siblings were in California enjoying themselves in San Francisco, along with thousands of other young people. I spent the year collecting baseball cards and playing flag football with the other kids in the neighborhood. The assasinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy didn’t impact me that much, as I was not old enough to understand what was happening in the larger world. The music I listened to was usually the popular stuff one heard on the radio, and the Beatles, of course. Doing this exhibit brought back a lot of memories. It also impressed upon me that it was an amazing time, with so much going on, culturally, musically, and politically.

September 4, 2018-December 7, 2018,

Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries

From the UA News Service:

One of the most volatile years in the history of the United States was 1968. The Tet Offensive escalated the war in Vietnam, we lost two monumental leaders – Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy – to assassination, and riots broke out across the nation. As students protested the war, popular music became a powerful voice for their generation. At the same time, the civil rights and Black Power movements inspired environmentalists, women, Chicanos, Native Americans and the gay and lesbian community to add their voices to the discourse.

This exhibit showcases a variety of materials from University Libraries’ Special Collections. Explore hidden treasures highlighting politics, news, art, literature and culture from 50 years ago – including underground press publications, sports and music memorabilia and photographs from the University of Arizona.

I found a bunch of “psychedelic”, 60s style handkerchiefs that I used for the exhibit cases.
60s memorabilia from a private collection.
More 60s memorabilia. Collection courtesy of Bob Diaz.
This section of the exhibit provided a chronological look at local, national and world events that happened in 1968.
A poster from the Tom Miller collectoin. The Yippees played a prominent role in the youth movement of the 60s.
A scene from Aengus Anderson’s short film on 1968 in America. Morgan Maxwell Jr. is on the far right side just to the left of the police officer.
Video program that accompanies the exhibit, created by Aengus Anderson.
Another scene from Aengus Anderson’s film.
A list of Arizona casualties of the Vietnam War in 1968. From the Arizona Daily Star Index.
Members of a student athlete leadership club visiting the exhibit

Company Town / Exhibition and Program (2012)

Exhibits and Events, Work,
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Company Town poster. Designed by Marty Taylor.

Company Town: Arizona’s Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood, was the first exhibit I curated completely on my own in my new job as exhibits and events coordinator in Special Collections at the University of Arizona. The exhibit was located in the Science-Engineering Library, in a much smaller exhibit space than the Special Collections gallery. It was a fun project and one I was very eager to work on. I enjoyed doing the research on mining in Arizona and found that Special Collections has a rich treasure trove of historical information on mining. In the exhibit, I featured information on Ajo, Globe-Miami, San Manuel Superior, Jerome, Bisbee, Clifton-Morenci, and Ray/Sonora, and included original photographs, books and other materials. I learned a lot from this project along the way. Feedback I was given included that I used way too much material and that I should not have used sticky dots on any of the materials. I also didn’t include enough written annotations. The Dean of the College of Mining wasn’t too happy either because I included a section on labor strife in Arizona. She even asked the University administration to intervene on her behalf to pressure me to remove the information on labor issues, but the Vice-Provost and the Dean of the Library defended my right to include “controversial” information in the exhibit. Below, I’ve included an article written by the UA News service, with links to further information, including a video of the exhibit and an article written for the Arizona Daily Star by Ernesto Portillo, Jr.. I also planned one program, a lecture by Dr. Anny Ochoa O’Leary. A news story and the transcript of her talk are linked below.

SAMSUNG

January 6, 2012: Exhibit – ‘Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood |UA News …

“Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood,” a new exhibit at the UA Science-Engineering Library, shares 100 years of stories, struggles and triumphs from Arizona’s copper mining communities.

The history of mining in Arizona is rich and colorful with silver, gold and copper all having been discovered and mined in the state. The first mining company was established in Ajo in the 1850s; the arrival of the railroad brought a booming industry to Clifton-Morenci, Bisbee and Jerome.

Throughout the 20th century, while mining companies made significant profits, the mining workers’ salary was often not a living wage. Conditions in the mines were dangerous and unhealthy; many miners developed a lung disease now referred to as “miner’s lung.” In this context, labor relations between workers and the mine owners throughout Arizona’s history have been volatile, and at times violent.

“Company Town” features an in-depth selection of photographs, pamphlets, original manuscripts, federal and state reports and personal papers drawn from UA Special Collections. The materials on display detail the history of eight Arizona mining communities – Ajo, Bisbee, Clifton-Morenci, Globe-Miami, Jerome, Ray-Sonora, San Manuel and Superior – and show that these communities were more than just a mine, and the people more than just mining workers.

One community in particular, Clifton-Morenci, was the epicenter of the Arizona copper mine strike of 1983. Anna Ochoa O’Leary, a professor in the UA department of Mexican American and Raza Studies, lived in Clifton during the strike and was the president of the Morenci Miners Women’s Auxiliary in Clifton from 1985 to 1986. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE ALSO:

*Materials used in the Company Town Exhibit

*January 6, 2012-March 30, 2012: Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood | Special Collections

*News article from the Arizona Daily Star: Neto’s Tucson: Mining’s history interwoven With Arizona’s, February 12, 2012.

* Mine Exhibit Brought to Life Through Special Collections | UANews (video feature story)