Outside the Main Library Gallery, the front window presented a preview of the exhibition. Printed cobblestone lined the bottom of the window case, and vintage draft horse shoes and a horse collar gave the illusion that an invisible horse was present.

Along with our ancestors, horses helped build Iowa City, the state, and the nation. In the process, they profoundly shaped human identities. This exhibition explores the physical and social impact of these huge, powerful animals by

A leather horse collar, which sits around the neck and on the shoulders, is suspended from the top of the case with wire. It appears to float freely.

Photo by Barry Phipps

screening the original documentary film The Pull of Horses in Urban American Performance, 1860-1920 at life-sized scale amid displays of local equine history. The exhibition contains glimpses of Iowa City town and campus life, as well as national equestrian culture – especially as multitudes of women took up the sport of riding and advocated for suffrage. Original and reproduction publications, photographs, artifacts, and ephemera from Special Collections at the University of Iowa Libraries, the State Historical Society of Iowa, and from private collections will share a sampling of stories about life alongside horses from Iowa City’s, and the nation’s, past. Curated by Kim Marra, PhD of the University of Iowa Departments of Theatre Arts and American Studies, and Mark Anderson of the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio at the University of Iowa Libraries.

 

Outside the Main Library Gallery, the front window presents a preview of the exhibition as well as vinyl lettering displaying the title: The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities. Printed cobblestone lines the bottom of the window case, and vintage draft horse shoes and a horse collar gave the illusion that an invisible horse was present.


EXHIBITION CURATION
Kim Marra, Professor of Theatre Arts and American Studies
Mark Anderson, UI Libraries Digital Scholarship & Collections Librarian

EXHIBITION TEXT (VIRTUAL AND MAIN LIBRARY GALLERY)
Kim Marra

PREPARATION & INSTALLATION (MAIN LIBRARY GALLERY) 
Giselle Simón, Bill Voss

DESIGN
Kalmia Strong

EXHIBITION COORDINATION
Sara J. Pinkham

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION LAYOUT
Ken Clinkenbeard

EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHY
Barry Phipps

EXHIBITION TECHNOLOGY (MAIN LIBRARY GALLERY)
Chris Clark, Will Brown

PUBLICITY & WEBSITE
Jennifer Masada, Sara J. Pinkham, Ken Clinkenbead

TOUCHSCREEN DESIGN (MAIN LIBRARY)
Ethan DeGross, Alyssa Varner

CONTRIBUTING INSTITUTIONS & COLLECTIONS
University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives
Iowa Women’s Archives
State Historical Society of Iowa – Iowa City
Library of Congress

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE EXHIBITION
Friends of the University of Iowa  Libraries
Arts and Humanities Initiative
Obermann Center for Advanced Studies
Theatre Arts Department
Department of American Studies

SPECIAL THANKS
Mary Bennett, State Historical Society of Iowa
Hang Nguyen, State Historical Society of Iowa
Charles Scott, State Historical Society of Iowa
Kären Mason, Iowa Women’s Archives
Janet Weaver, Iowa Women’s Archives
Teresa Mangum, Obermann Center for Advanced Studies
Nicholas Coso, Theatre Arts
Robert Durham, Theatre Arts
Bryon Winn, Theatre Arts
Meredith Alexander, Theatre Arts
Jennifer Buckley, English and Theatre Arts
Rick Loula, Division of Performing Arts
Paula Balkenende, University of Iowa Libraries
Bethany Davis, University of Iowa Libraries
Lindsay Moen, University of Iowa Libraries
Ethan DeGross, University of Iowa Libraries
Lauren Haldeman, International Writing Program
Connor Hood, University of Iowa Libraries
Teresa Mulhausen, Wyndtree Farm
Nancy Pacha
Dick Klimes