Fiat Lux Redux: Ansel Adams And Clark Kerr

Fiat Lux Redux: Ansel Adams and Clark Kerr features 50 original photographs selected from 605 signed Ansel Adams prints in Bancroft’s collection. The images -- commissioned by former UC President Clark Kerr and published in the 1967 book Fiat Lux, which celebrated the educational system’s centennial – offer a rarely seen look at the evolution of the renowned University of California system through the eye of a master photographer best known for his iconic California landscapes. The exhibition, organized by Catherine Cole, also showcases related archival materials about the controversial Kerr himself, and the development of his ideas and ideals.

Also on view at the exhibition will be “Take Five,” a series of short films by Cole and filmmaker Kwame Braun based on interviews with UC faculty, staff, alumni, students, and neighbors. Interviewees – including author Michael Pollan, artist Anne Walsh and cultural commentator Leigh Raiford – were each asked to select and discuss a quintet of images from the collection that speak to them personally.

Opening reception for the Fiat Lux Redux is September 27, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.