Spring 2022
Kislak Center at the University of Miami

“Parallel Passions: Selected Materials From the Collections of Three Passionate Miamians” documents the dedication, forethought, and passion underlying the collections of three unique Miami individuals: Jay I. Kislak and Ruth and Marvin Sackner.

On view in one grouping of these cases are World War II materials from the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Early Americas, Exploration and Navigation. This selection of items presents the drama of history with visually striking primary sources that document two pivotal events in the Second World War — the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which brought the United States into the war, and the liberation of Paris in August 1944, which signaled “the beginning of the end” for the Nazi war machine.

Juxtaposed in the other group of cases are colorful, fascinating, and complex works from around the world that comprise the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Collection of Artists’ Books. Ruth and Marvin Sackner’s affinity for art, literature, and the many ways in which those forms are expressed, helped them build a world-class collection of “concrete poetry.” The materials in the Sackner Collection — including books, paintings, sculptures, and many other artistic formats — are a unique Miami resource of global importance that give arresting visual life to the words on the pages, or as we can see in the items on display, on coffee filters, sleeve cuffs, and metal plates.

With this exhibition, Special Collections at the University of Miami Libraries celebrates the collecting instinct, with gratitude to three notable individuals whose passion, intuition, and dedication to preserving art and culture benefit us all.