OPENING NEXT WEEK

• FORCE: The UC Policy — Using photos, policies and other documentation, Art History 401 addresses the question of whether UC campus police and the UC administration are upholding their stated missions to “prevent violence and protect student rights.” Co-curated by Giana Belardi, Liz Church, Ashleigh Crocker, Maizy Enck, Susan Fanire, Megan Friel, Cindy Gieng, Bianca Hua, Lizzy Joelson, Mitzi Matthews, Monica Mercado, Brayant Pereyra, Kyle Taylor, Jennifer Urrutia, Ariana Young and Kevin Zhou. Art History 401 is a class in curatorial methods, taught by Susette Min, an assistant professor in Asian American studies and an affiliate of the Art History Program. March 12-23, ArtLounge, Memorial Union (second floor).

NEW AT SHIELDS LIBRARY

• Patti Smith — Another exhibition in conjunction with the Distinguished Speakers series at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Smith's visit to the Mondavi Center is scheduled for Wednesday, May 9.

Shields Library describes Smith as "an important countercultural figure" since her seminal punk album, Horses (1975) — and notes that she has been active as a poet and writer as well as a musician. Just Kids, a memoir of her days with Robert Mapplethorpe, won the 2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Works of hers in the library collection include Seventh Heaven, Witt, Auguries of Innocence, Early Work, The Coral Sea and Ha! Ha! Houdini! (all poetry), Patti Smith Complete (lyrics) and Just Kids. and

MORE AT SHIELDS LIBRARY

• The Ground Beneath Our Feet: The Nikola P. Prokopovich Papers on Land Subsidence — Manuscript archivist Liz Phillips prepared this exhibition on the papers of engineering geologist Nikola P. Prokopovich (1918-99), who worked as a geologist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Mid-Pacific Region.

He worked out of the bureau's Sacramento office from 1958 to 1986, investigating the geology and geochemistry of statewide water projects, including the Central Valley Project and the Solano Project. He was an avid field geologist and spent as much time as possible on site, collecting his own data. Prokopovich was particularly interested in the engineering geology of the Central Valley Project's canals and dam sites, and in the effects of state water projects and field irrigation on the surrounding landscape.

The collection includes draft reports, memoranda and published writings, as well as nearly 25,000 slides and photographs documenting his work and the land around his work sites.

• Paper Takes: The Power of Uncivil Words — Materials from the library's Walter Goldwater Radical Pamphlets collection, part of the library's Special Collections. The exhibition debuted last fall as part of the campus's Civility Project, and now Paper Takes is on display in the Shields Library lobby through winter quarter.

Looking beyond the bounds of the campus, the exhibition explores the ways in which intolerant views are communicated and disseminated through pamphlets. Paper Takes explores the particular rhetoric supporting race-based hatred, gender and sexuality bias, and political divisiveness, to better understand the dominant discourses that frame some of our most uncivil exchanges. Displaying a selection from more than 17,000 items in the leading collection of “extreme” pamphlets in the United States, this exhibition provides historical depth to our understanding of the language of hate and intolerance, traces of which remain potent today.

Read more about Paper Takes and the Walter Goldwater Radical Pamphlets collection.

• Reimagining Shields, Part 1 — Step into Peter J. Shields Library and you may see the building's future — in this exhibition of architectural drawings suggesting ways to design the library's entrance, lobby, main staircase, and first- and second-floor spaces, to make better use of the public spaces and to have them reflect the 21st century. Part 1 runs through March 19.

The work is from the students of Design 180A, in which Kessler is focusing on the real-world challenges of designing the research library of tomorrow.

The students studied existing plans, researched library design literature, observed the social use of the Shields Library spaces, and interviewed librarians and library users to come up with designs that might accommodate the multiple, and sometimes, competing demands of an academic library.

The library is asking people to "let us know what you think." Send questions or comments to Daniel Goldstein, librarian, Arts and Humanities, University Library. His e-mail address is
dgoldstein@ucdavis.edu.

• The Spirit of New Orleans: Culture, Community, Community, Catastrophe, Construction — In conjunction with The Spirit of New Orleans series (film and music) at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibition, prepared by Michael Colby, features items from library collections representing scholarship on the history, music, architecture, culture, practices and, most important, the people of New Orleans.

• Words Take Wing — Selected works by Ying Chang Compestine, featured author for this year's Words Take Wing: Celebration of Diversity in Children's Literature.

The Shields Library presents its exhibitions in the lobby. Regular hours: 7:30 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-midnight Sunday. Holidays and other exceptions.

OTHER ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

• Ruthe Blalock Jones: A Retrospective — The internationally acclaimed Blalock Jones creates in a range of media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor and printmaking — producing works that emerge from personal experiences with a focus on Native American women in dance attire, and depictions of ceremonial and social events. Blalock Jones (Chu-Lun-Dit), Delaware/Shawnee/Peoria, formerly served as professor and art director at Bacone College, Muskogee, Okla. Through March 16, C.N. Gorman Museum, 1316 Hart Hall.  Regular hours: noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday.

• Hollow — Flame-worked sculpture and vessels by Craft Center instructor Andrew Phillips. Through March 16, Craft Center Gallery, South Silo. Regular hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

• Need and Desire, the work of blankblank — Curated by Rob Zinn, founder of blankblank, a Northern California firm that works with a select group of designers and artisans to produce furniture, lighting and limited-edition art — as seen around the world. The title of this show alludes to the ambiguities that Zinn sees between art and design, form and function, business and creativity, and individual and society. Need and Desire charts the past eight years of blankblank through examples from its collection, including documentation of development and personal insight from Zinn as to the time, environment and circumstance in which they were created. Through March 16, Design Museum, Cruess Hall. Regular hours: noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Closed holidays and holiday weekends.

• Poking at Beehives: Three Painters — “I believe that this will prove to be the most important painting show that I have organized in my seven years at the Nelson,” said the gallery’s director, Renny Pritikin. “These are three very special artists, and it’s a thrill to bring their work to the attention of this community for the first time.” Each of the artists, Peter Edlund, Leslie Shows and Fred Tomaselli, finds inspiration in nature. A  news release describes them as follows:

Edlund, from Brooklyn via San Francisco, who makes representational monochromatic depictions of natural settings, has carved out a significant career since returning to the Northeast after many years in San Francisco and is a professor at the acclaimed School of the Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Tomaselli, from Brooklyn via Los Angeles, is internationally acclaimed for his collage paintings depicting birds, nature and narratives in thick resin.

Shows, from San Francisco via Alaska, also makes collaged paintings based on man’s impact on nature, and is considered to be one of the handful of most important artists to emerge from San Francisco in the past 10 years.

Through March 18, Nelson Gallery, Nelson Hall. Regular hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Saturday-Sunday, and by appointment on Fridays.