{"id":2317,"date":"2011-04-21T15:16:42","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T19:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.library.ryerson.ca\/asc\/?p=397"},"modified":"2020-05-14T10:12:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T14:12:33","slug":"butterflies-in-special-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/2011\/04\/butterflies-in-special-collections\/","title":{"rendered":"Butterflies in Special Collections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photographs from Flora and Flutterbyes: Nature as Inspiration and Decoration<\/em> currently on display in Special Collections, April 21 – June 8, 2011. Specimens courtesy the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Ulysses Butterfly on green turf in the display case.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea for the springtime butterfly theme emerged from the same cocoon as another great exhibit idea: the Ryerson student-curated \u201cWith Us at Every Age: Selected Animal Photographs from the Mira Godard Research Centre<\/a>\u201d (runs April 13 – May 7, 2011 at the IMA Gallery as part of the CONTACT Photography Festival). The student exhibit explores human-animal relationships through photography, and it includes the traditional and heart-warming portraits we expect to see of people and pets (cats and dogs included), but also draws attention to some of our more irrational relationships. The exhibit invites us to consider our creation of rare to absurd animalia<\/em>: a toy stork in a children\u2019s window display or a bear rug on a wall, and shows us images of aging with pets (and pet-themed ceramics). The use of photography as the medium works to both invite the viewer into these intimate worlds, yet provides a safe distance from which to consider the animals we have not treated so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all the birds, reptiles and mammals that are showcased, we couldn\u2019t help but notice a distinct avoidance of that other class of animals we see daily: insects. Though hardly the type of creature to develop a lasting bond with, these misunderstood and sometimes repellant animals also inhabit our homes and inform our relationships with each other. In some cases, as with the butterfly, the insect is seen as a source of inspiration and enjoyment. The butterfly\u2019s colours are copied for our clothes, its pattern in flight informs our social graces, its taste for the most vibrant and delicate flowers expresses a certain model of femininity, and its ability to withdraw from the world and transform helps us describe our desire for second chances. The butterfly is so familiar, but unlike the subjects in \u201cWith Us at Every Age,\u201d how many have we ever seen? Using both photography and preserved specimens, we invite you to browse the 4th floor display and be inspired by nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
<\/a>The butterfly specimens were borrowed from the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory<\/a>, where at least 2000 free-flying tropical butterflies and moths are on exhibit throughout the year. Bred in Costa Rica or the Philippines, these vibrantly-coloured species metamorphose<\/em> on arrival in Canada inside equally colourful chrysalides (also know as pupae), and flit about their business in an indoor rainforest as part of an effort to preserve butterfly populations through a sustainable form of agriculture. Here they offer us a fascinating look at the incredible variety of species in the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Ulysses Butterfly (left) and Blue Morpho see from both angles (dorsal – purplish colouring \/ ventral – spotted brown)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
The Monarch Butterfly, the most familiar butterfly in Canada.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
A Clipper Butterfly on green turf in the display.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photographs from Flora and Flutterbyes: Nature as Inspiration and Decoration currently on display in Special Collections, April 21 – June 8, 2011. Specimens courtesy the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. The idea for the springtime butterfly theme emerged from the same cocoon … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,141],"tags":[15,20,202,82],"class_list":["post-2317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exhibits","category-sc","tag-animals","tag-butterflies","tag-exhibits","tag-student-curators"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2HpLS-Bn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7332,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions\/7332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}