Held in the ASC galleries through Dec. 16, the exhibit will open with a reception on July 14 at 5 p.m. featuring the dedication and renaming of the Photographic Archives gallery in Friedman’s honor.

Friedman’s sister, Carol Abrams, donated the bulk of his artistic works to the Photographic Archives after his passing in 2017.

“Julius loved to mentor students and fellow artists. In giving his work to the Archives and Special Collections, students can learn from his work,” she said.

Abrams also provided support to renovate the gallery, enhance storage for ASC’s photographic holdings, including Friedman’s work, and prepare the collection for research by the community. This preparatory work is ongoing, and the full collection is expected to be open to the public in 2023.

Beloved by the local arts community, Friedman also was highly regarded among international audiences. Perhaps best known for the posters “Fresh Paint” and “Toe on Egg,” Friedman created posters and other graphic works for a broad range of clients. Outside of his design work, Friedman created his own artwork through photography – often printing on unique surfaces like metals and fabrics – as well as sculpture, furniture design, collage, book art and collaborative video. While this exhibit focuses on his early posters, the collection includes this broad range of media and formats.

“Julius Friedman was such a significant figure in our local arts scene,” said ASC Director Carrie Daniels. “We are delighted to serve as the home of his archive, and to present a slice of it to the community in this exhibition.”

Friedman was a graphic design graduate of UofL and had a decades-long relationship with the University Libraries. His work frequently appeared in ASC exhibits, including a 2012 celebration of Photographic Archives’ 50^th Anniversary, which featured Friedman’s photographic capture of a ballet dancer in mid-swirl. Friedman’s close friend, former Art Library Director Gail Gilbert, inspired one of Friedman’s later efforts, a project titled The Book. Gilbert suggested that Friedman create works of art from old books that otherwise would have been thrown away, and he ran with the project, taking old books, tearing them, twisting them, boring into them, reconstituting them and creating art. The Book consists of 130 photographs of that art.

Among ASC’s digital offerings are two recordings of conversations between Abrams and ASC archivist and local historian Tom Owen. In them, Abrams discusses her memories of growing up with Julius, her older brother and only sibling, and how she came to work alongside him in his studio and then gallery to exhibit and sell his work commercially. Abrams recounts observing her brother’s talent burgeoning in childhood and watching him become successful as an adult. She also talks about establishing a nonprofit foundation in her brother’s name to help young people pursue academic degrees in the arts, the .

The Early Poster Designs of Julius Friedman, 1965-1980 will run July 14-Dec. 16 in the Julius Friedman Gallery, on the lower level of Ekstrom Library on UofL’s Belknap campus. 

There are 31 photos included, in both color and black and white and taken from 1940 through 2012.

Assistant curator Marcy Werner artfully arranged the portraits in clusters or in juxtaposition, causing the viewer to consider childhood from differing perspectives: How has childhood changed through the years? How does an American childhood differ from those abroad? How do children process adult values? 

“While many of these photographs appear to be straight portraiture, whimsy or documentation, there is additional meaning in the context of place and pose. Most of these children appear quite aware their photos were being taken. How they chose to present themselves provides relatable moments, if one can remember what it was like to be a kid,” Werner said.

The exhibition is for the young and young-at-heart. Families with children are invited to peruse the portraits and also visit the on the third floor. The collection features thousands of multicultural and diversity-related books and materials for children of all ages.

“Fine Young Kids” is in the Photographic Archives and Kain Rare Books Gallery in the lower level of Ekstrom Library, Belknap Campus, through May 25. for gallery hours, directions and other information.

One hundred years later, Archives and Special Collections recognizes their work with “‘All In!’ Louisville and the Great War,” an exhibition of vintage photographs, war posters, documents and artifacts from its collections.

April marked the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. entering WWI and Archives and Special Collection joins many organizations around the world in marking the momentous date.

“The exhibit offers a broad range of materials that cover differing perspectives and experiences, from the home front to overseas,” said Carrie Daniels, Archives and Special Collections director. “Our panoramic photos from Camp Zachary Taylor, which feature hundreds of soldiers, are particularly dramatic. We have letters from soldiers as well, and some of them are very sweet.”

The exhibition will also include records from the Camp Taylor Library and propaganda posters collected at the time by a Louisville boy scout.

The exhibition will run July 13 through Sept. 29 in the Photographic Archives and Kain Rare Books Galleries in the Lower Level of Ekstrom Library on Belknap Campus. for gallery hours, directions and other information.

The 39 photos explore different types of blur: intentional and unintentional, blur from motion, darkroom processing or manipulating shutter speeds and exposure times.

The exhibition shows that, over time, blur has helped raise photography to an art form by expanding its visual language. It’s served as a valuable storytelling tool, resulting in images that can be disconcerting, haunting, mysterious and provocative.   

Marcy Werner, assistant curator and imaging manager for Photographic Archives and curator for the exhibition, said she often comes across blurry images in her work and finds herself asking so many questions about them.

“Why didn’t the photographer tell everyone to be still? Why didn’t they wait a second until that car was out of frame to take the photo? How could the blur have been avoided? Beyond trying to figure out the reason for the ‘mistake,’ to me, it could make a photo more interesting. And I didn’t like to look at the blur as a mistake, but as an element that provided more of a story or feeling and provided a different reason to examine an image,” she said.

“Ghosts of Motion” continues through Sept. 30 at the Photographic Archives Gallery in the lower level of UofL’s Ekstrom Library.