Exhibition about Juri Lotman focuses on his work in the university

The exhibition „Juri Lotman – a professor of the University of Tartu“ was opened in the UT Library to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the well-known semiotician and cultural historian. In addition to the books and manuscripts several works of art are exhibited.  

„There are different ways to approach Lotman as a person and also his work, but we concentrated on his years in the University of Tartu,“ said one of the curators of the exhibition Tatjana Šahhovskaja. „His contribution to the study and research work of the university is remarkable and it cannot be overestimated.“

Together with lecture materials and different notes from his manuscripts’ collection, the correspondence with many researchers and cultural figures, e.g. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Bulat Okudzhava and Uku Masing, are exhibited.  

The visitors can see the bust of Juri Lotman by Lev Razumovski, a famous Russian sculptor, graphic artist and painter, which is a gift to the UT Library by the author himself in 1981.  The portraits of father, made by the son of Juri Lotman Grigori, are a part of the exhibition.

The content of the exhibition was created by the librarians of the department of manuscripts and rare books Tatjana Šahhovskaja and Nataliia Gradoboeva, design concept by Lilian Mengel.

The exhibition is open until 29 May.