Rare books on the intersection of architecture and political theory are on display in the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library.  Writings by architects Walter Gropius, Erich Mendelsohn, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright on the nature of democracy, economic exploitation, and how both intersect with architecture accompany the books.

James B. Thomas speaks about his career as a specialist in interior architecture in this 2018 interview, which was recorded in our Building Houston collection. Professor Thomas is retiring after a long career at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design.

The Architecture, Design, and Art Library has added the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s Digital Rare Books Archive to its recommended databases lists for art and architecture.  Browse or search this compendium of carefully curated digitized rare books about classical architecture and the allied arts, hosted by institutions around the world and assembled by the ICAA.

Books and Bytes is a series of talks by local authors who discuss the research, writing, and publication of their art, architecture, or design book.  Our community of scholars is invited to participate in discussions afterward, so they may learn from one another’s experiences.  Books and Bytes is co-sponsored by the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and the University of Houston Libraries.

This conversation will take place on Wednesday, April 17th, at 6 pm in the Architecture, Art, and Design Library on the first floor of the College of Architecture Building.  

Making a Scene! is the story of how visionary individuals created an international art world around photography. A classic Texas tale of seemingly quixotic ideas, audacious goals, oil booms and busts, generous philanthropists, southern sensibilities, grandiosity, and resolve, this book documents the social history of ‘who did what and when’ to create an international photography scene in such an unlikely place as Houston.

Tracy Xavia Karner is a visual sociologist who writes about photography in fine art venues and everyday life. She is the chair of the Sociology Department at the University of Houston where she teaches courses in Visual Sociology, Sociology of Art, and Visual Culture.