Introduction
Arca Artium, "Ark of the Arts", developed from the working
collection and inspirational habitat of
Frank Kacmarcik (1920-2004),
teacher, liturgical designer, graphic artist, typographer and
calligrapher. Beyond the significant contributions he made to these
areas of endeavor during more than sixty years of labor, Frank
Kacmarcik funneled his earnings to Arca Artium, carefully shaping it
into a stunning collection that could serve generations of students.
For many years a close associate of Saint John's, Br. Frank became a
claustral oblate of the monastery in 1989 and formally donated his
collection to Saint John's University in 1995.
Contents
Arca Artium's areas of interest focus on the book arts,
graphic art, liturgical art, and architecture. Its rare book library
and fine art print holdings anchor Arca Artium. These two collection
components each number more than four thousand items. Frank Kacmarcik
gathered his rare books and graphic art pieces in a complementary way,
so that texts and images help inform and interpret each other.
Whether valued for their antiquity, outstanding
literary merit, artistic quality, or limited production, volumes in
the rare book library provide excellent examples of the manuscript
tradition, the transition to printing with moveable type and the
history of fine printing houses, ancient through contemporary. (A
list of incunabula
provides browsers a partial list of Arca Artium's earliest printed
books.) Passion for superior craftsmanship, love for the beauty of
the book as an object and delight in letterforms is everywhere evident
in this library. Subject and technical interests often overlap as
demonstrated by Arca Artium's more than two hundred Bibles, ranging
from the Glossa Ordinaria (Koberger: Strasbourg, 1481) to Barry
Moser's Holy Bible (Pennyroyal Caxton: North Hatfield, MA,
1999).
Arca Artium's graphic art
holdings grew out of and in relation to interests reflected in the
rare books. Many of the prints in the collection were once
incorporated into books, or were printed as part of a book project.
Conversely, Frank Kacmarcik collected some of Arca Artium's books
primarily for their illustrations. In this way, the collection is
able to tell the story of printmaking in the west from the late 15th
through the 20th centuries. But the intellectual value of
the these images goes far beyond simply providing a chronology of
printmaking. For example, Arca Artium contains a large number of
printed religious images that illustrate or interpret sacred texts,
often providing a rich array of variant portrayals of a given
subject. This capacity to compare and contrast artistic insights
across space and time makes these images an important resource for
theological study.
Arca Artium also contains significant holdings of
three-dimensional art objects, furnishings and musical recordings that
are meant not only to participate in the reciprocal creativity
generated between word and figure, but also intended to build an
environment of beauty capable of molding the spirits of those who
inhabit their territory. Many of the art objects and chant recordings
are indigenous works gathered from cultures around the world, greatly
enriches the way Arca Artium explores its areas of interest.
Supporting these elements and ideas that make up
Arca Artium is a reference library of some 30,000 volumes. The
collection's research capacity is further enhanced with extensive file
materials pertaining to the interest areas of Arca Artium. In
addition, the Frank Kacmarcik archives—containing his papers,
artwork, book and architectural designs—are housed with the
collection, reflecting the fact that Arca Artium is an integral part
of the disciplined vision Br. Frank brought to all his projects: "That
God may be glorified in all things" (1 Peter 4:11; cited in the Rule
of Benedict, chapter 57).
Intent
Frank Kacmarcik wanted his collection to give scholars and
artists tools for diligent, thorough study that would spark their
imaginations to bold creativity. Ever on the look-out for meaningful
additions, Br. Frank continued to augment collection holdings until
his death on February 22, 2004. Though he provided an endowment to
foster the ongoing vitality of Arca Artium's contents, Br. Frank hoped
that the collection would also continue to grow in a thoughtful way by
attracting kindred gifts.
Growth
His hope has not been disappointed. Recent additions to Arca
Artium include the Robert Hovda papers, important primary materials on
twentieth century liturgical theology, gift of Gabe Huck; a 1514
"study edition" of the Rule of Saint Benedict by Giovanni Francesco da
Brescia, O.S.B. (Paris: Jean Petit), gift of Dorene Hayes Scriven;
Ecce Homo, c. 1950, a metal sculpture by Jean Lambert-Rucki
(Poland/France 1888-1967), along with 350 reference works on topics
ranging from archeological findings in Palestine to American
Southwestern santos, gift of Robert E. Rambusch; a special
printing of the etching "Abraham Counting the Stars" (2004) from the
Biblical Themes portfolio (1952) by Ben-Zion (Ukraine/America
1897-1987), gift of Barbara Jordano, in memory of Frank Kacmarcik.
Use
In the past six years Arca Artium has presented or
participated in several exhibits that have begun to show Saint John's
and surrounding communities something of the collection’s breadth and
depth. Most recent is The Catholic Intellectual Tradition
exhibit, mounted in the Alcuin Library August-September, 2003. Plans
for the forthcoming exhibit of The Saint John's Bible at the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (April 17-July 3, 2005) include many
items from Arca Artium that will help expand or deepen an
understanding of that exhibit’s theme: illuminating the Word. Faculty
members (local and visiting) have made increasing use of the
collection to illustrate book arts or printmaking techniques, and to
give students an opportunity to see primary resources, bringing
influential historical works into their twenty-first century learning
experience. Aided by the kind support of the Henry Luce Foundation,
Saint John's School of Theology is now in its third year of working
with Arca Artium to integrate the visual arts into theological
curriculum. The Kacmarcik archives were an invaluable resource for
Sister Charlotte Zalot, O.S.B., whose doctoral dissertation (completed
2004) focuses on Br. Frank’s contributions to liturgical theology
through his architectural designs.
Access
Arca Artium's dazzling holdings have, however, remained
largely inaccessible except to a rather limited public. Efforts to
organize, research, interpret and display the collection began in the
late 1980s, but proceeded only slowly with a small staff and modest
funds. Recent collaborative efforts to marshal the potentials of
various special collections on the Saint John's campus will greatly
benefit those who might hope to make use of Arca Artium's resources.
Records of fine art prints, objects and furnishings are now being
prepared for an online image database, and a generous grant from the
Andrew Mellon Foundation will fund cataloguing of the entire rare and
reference book portions of Arca Artium.
Learn more about some of Arca Artium's holdings
by clicking on the images.
Contact
Inquiries may be directed to:
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Box 7300
Bush Center
Saint John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321-7300 USA
