On the Edge: Medieval Margins and the Margins of Academic Life

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of Image on the Edge: The Margins of Medieval Art by University of Chicago art history professor Michael Camille (1958-2002), a work that looks at the playful and parodic images in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. Inspired by Camille’s work, published by the Harvard University Press, this exhibition explores the symmetry between medieval margins and the modern margins of academic life. Camille studied the uncommon: the strange, remarkable, and extraordinary images at the edges of the medieval world, bringing to light the confluence of the serious and the playful, the sacred and the profane. The serious and the playful also converge at the University of Chicago, and “On the Edge” features medieval manuscript marginalia paired with student photographs that capture the margins of campus life. The photographs show what happens outside of the classroom at the University, highlighting quintessential traditions such as the Scavenger Hunt.

At the Special Collections Research Center Exhibition Gallery
1100 East 57th Street, Chicago
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m.; Saturdays: 9:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. when University of Chicago classes are in session
May 19 – September 10, 2012

On May 21 at 5 p.m., an opening reception in Special Collections will celebrate the work of students who organized the exhibition.

Web Exhibit
An associated web exhibit is online at lib.uchicago.edu/e/webexhibits/ontheedge/

These images from the exhibition are available for members of the media, and are reserved for editorial use in connection with the University of Chicago Library exhibitions, programs, or related news.  Email Rachel Rosenberg (phone: 773-834-1519) or Joseph Scott (phone: 773-702-6655)  to request high-resolution images.  Credit: “Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library”