We invite you to browse panels about the scripts of ancient Egypt, indigenous languages of Central and South America, languages of Southeast Asia, and more – including the English language and language used in graffiti and comics.

This exhibit highlights the possibilities for exploration and discovery within the library’s collections, which are impressive on many levels. The sheer number of materials, including more than 8.5 million volumes in locations all over campus, and access to millions of digital books, journals and images, makes it one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The collection encompasses ancient documents written on papyrus, electronic journals reporting on the latest advances in science and medicine, and materials from nearly every period, culture, and way of thought in between.

Face of Our Time examines more than 100 works by five photographers—Jacob Aue Sobol, Jim Goldberg, Zanele Muholi, Daniel Schwartz, and Richard Misrach—who operate within what Walker Evans referred to as the "documentary style." Sharing an interest in making pictures that capture what the world looks like, they observe the sometimes volatile civil and political transformations facing society and look reflectively at contemporary culture, recording history as it unfolds slowly over time. Aue Sobol's gentle and sculptural pictures reveal the hardships of life in the Arctic; Goldberg's multilayered series includes fragmented narratives from the migration of illegal immigrants from Africa to Europe; Muholi commemorates and celebrates the histories and struggles that black lesbians face in her native South Africa; Schwartz reveals the overlapping narratives between the Silk Route's ancient history and the military and economic power struggles that it faces today; and the Richard Misrach photographs, from his recently published book, Destroy This Memory, are an informal, yet personal collection of pictures taken in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in New Orleans.

Face of Our Time: Jacob Aue Sobol, Jim Goldberg, Zanele Muholi, Daniel Schwartz, Richard Misrach is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Generous support is provided by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council.

Face of Our Time at UMMA is made possible in part by the Lois Zenkel Photographic Exhibitions Fund, the University of Michigan Health System, and the University of Michigan Office of the Provost and CEW Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund.

Image caption: Jim Goldberg, Making Fire, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2008; chromogenic print; 30 in. x 40 in. (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm); Collection SFMOMA, purchase through a gift of Nicola Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson; © Jim Goldberg

Preeminent American sculptor Mark di Suvero (b. 1933) is best known for his dynamic and monumental works made of industrial steel and salvaged materials that populate museum grounds, landscapes, and urban environments around the world. In addition to countless exhibitions and awards, in March 2011 di Suvero was honored with the National Medal of the Arts by President Obama in a White House ceremony. This exhibition, organized by UMMA and on view exclusively in Ann Arbor, features approximately 15 of di Suvero's rarely exhibited smaller scale pieces, or tabletops, from the 1950s to the present. The tabletops are not maquettes of larger-scale works but an expressionistic and engaging genre all their own, an outlet for exploring ideas relating to the calligraphic nature of form, balance, proportion, and movement. Drawing from numerous private collections as well as the artist's studio, the exhibition offers the opportunity to experience this intimate work in the Museum's ground level, glass-walled Irving Stenn, Jr, Family Project Gallery, adjacent to the two di Suvero outdoor steel sculptures on the Museum's grounds–Orion (2006) and Shang (1984–85).

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Office of the President of the University of Michigan, the University of Michigan Health System, and Laura Lynch and Hugh McPherson.

This is the first part of a two-part exhibition introducing exciting, recently acquired works from UMMA's collections gifted to the museum during the past five years. Recent Acquisitions: Curator's Choice, Part I presents a first look at artworks, mostly prints, drawings, and photographs by artists as diverse as Annie Leibovitz, Edward Steichen, and Rembrandt van Rijn. Carole McNamara, Senior Curator of Western Art, chose works that focus on some of the enduring and compelling themes that have occupied artists in Europe and America. One is the preoccupation with the human form as an expression of ideas, feelings, and sensations. This selection begins with the tradition of the academic nude study and progresses to embrace different genres, from both secular and religious contexts. Another selection-landscapes and cityscapes-are each opportunities for artists to speak to our relationship to the natural world-both in how we experience landscape as well as how we construct our own urban environments.

This exhibition is made possible in part by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost.

The tiny dramas that comprise Robert Wilson's Video 50 contain aspects of his hallmark aesthetic: surreal or dream-like imagery, the absence of a linear narrative, the conflation of seemingly unrelated characters and micro-stories, and a mesmerizingly slow pace. Video 50 consists of a randomly arranged set of 30-second "episodes," a few of which feature notable French personalities of the 1970s-perfumier Hélène Rochas stares down a mugger, culture minister Michel Guy struggles to open a dresser drawer-and Wilson thought of these as miniature portraits or character studies. The creator and director of aggressively experimental theater, Wilson first came to prominence with works from the mid-1970s such as The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin (1973) and Einstein on the Beach (1976). These lavish, unusually long productions broke and then redefined every convention of theater. In Video 50 his shorter time-based portraits explore the intersection of narrative and still-life, seductively dissolving the distance between viewer and subject.

The Fair is a great way to connect with organizations right here on campus! We expect 100+ organizations and 1000+ students to participate in the event.

Use the Fair to:

Meet with employers to discuss a wide range of positions

Build networks for the future

Connect with organizations interviewing later in the semester

Different Organizations on each day

A handful of ancient developmental signals, such as Hedgehog, Notch, Wnt, and RTK/MAPK, control cell fate by activating transcription factors (TFs), which bind to specific sites in animal genomes to turn genes on and off. These pathways and TFs are highly pleiotropic: they are involved in many developmental fate decisions in diverse organs, tissue types, and stem cell systems. How does one signal have different effects on gene expression in different types of cells, and how do genomic DNA sequences evolve in response to that signal? I will present results from our investigations of specific cis-regulatory sequences (aka enhancers) and the developmental and evolutionary forces that shape them, at the level of individual TF binding sites.

Learning to effectively manage disagreements with others can help you improve your relationships, be more successful, and feel better about yourself. In this workshop you will learn strategies for successfully managing conflict with others in both your personal and professional/academic life.

University Dance Company. Dance #1 by guest choreographer Lucinda Childs along with new dances from faculty members Bill DeYoung, Peter Sparling and Robin Wilson. Tickets available at the League Ticket Office, 734-764-2538.

Performers include Christopher Harding (piano), David Jackson (trombone) with trombone octet, Martin Katz (collaborative piano), Stephen West (bass-baritone), Andrew Bishop (jazz), Ellen Rowe (jazz piano), and Erik Santos (composition). PROGRAM: Brahms - Verrath; arr. Burleigh - Deep River; Mozart - O wie will ich triumphieren from Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Bruch - Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano; Brubeck - In Your Own Sweet Way; Rowe - Calico Roses; Berlioz - Recitative and Prayer; Copland - El Salón México

"The perfect recipe for Gothic Americana"—Rolling Stone

Who's the next breakthrough Americana band? Southeast Michigan's own Frontier Ruckus is looking like a strong candidate and has been getting lots of national attention. In the words of Cleveland Scene, Frontier Ruckus "delivers spirited, acoustic-based roots music driven by David W. Jones’ banjo and fleshed out with saws, horns, and other left-field touches. Frontman Matthew Milia’s vocals convey a dreamy, twangy quality, like someone who’s wandering aimlessly through the woods at night. He recalls Michael Stipe in his vivid wordplay and oblique imagery." What's unique about this band is that they use country instrumentation to depict not a rustic utopia but life along the interstate as most of us live it. They've got an attractive lyrical streak, and each of their albums so far has been brilliantly original in concept. They've been working on new music, and they'll be bringing it to The Ark, so don't miss it!

Vishal Kothari, UM cancer research student from India, will talk again about Ayurveda, the Indian traditional medicine. Herbs are one of the many components in Ayurveda that maintain health and treat illness. Find out about the incredible herbs that can cure a cold in no time at all, or heal a broken bone within 5 days! Best of all, many of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen, or at least at the grocery store. Come learn something fun and useful!

PROGRAM: Fasch - Concerto in D Major; Morales - Concerto for Trumpet in C and Piano; Gounod - O Divine Redeemer; Hummel - Concerto a Tromba principale