ABOUT THE ARCHIVES


The Hokes Archives operates under the direction of Professor Beauvais Lyons at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville School of Art in the UTK Print Workshop.

The Hokes Archives was founded in 1901 by Everitt Ormsby Hokes and is devoted to the fabrication and documentation of rare and unusual cultural artifacts. Some of the more important aspects of the collection include the Aazudians and the Apasht, both of which have been the subject of major exhibitions organized by the archives. A lesser known aspect of the collection are the Arenot who were the subject of a 1980 exhibition. Beauvais Lyons, Director of the Hokes Archives is available to give presentations and lectures on a variety of topics related to the collection. The Hokes Archives also played a role in bringing "The Centaur Excavations at Volos" to the Hodges Library on the University of Tennnessee, Knoxville campus. Beauvais Lyons, Director of the Hokes Archives is available to give presentations and lectures on a variety of topics related to the collection.

One of the recent projects from the Archives is on the Association for Creative Zoology. On July 21, 2007 Beauvais Lyons presented a facsimile of a display that was first presented in 1925 in conjunction with the trial of John Scopes in Dayton, Tennessee. Scopes was charged with teaching the Theory of Evolution in violation of the Butler Ammendment, a recent law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools and universities. The display offers a case for divine creation through the process of "zoomorphic juncture." To learn more about this project, CLICK HERE

"Hokes Medical Arts" brings together 25 lithographs and color pencil drawings from published an unpublished English, American, French and German projects dating from 1903 to 1931. To learn more about this project, including the exhibition schedule, CLICK HERE .

A significant addition to the Hokes Archives is the The Spelvin Collection, one of the most important collections of contemporary folk art. This exhibition includes the work of 11 artists, encompassing paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture. In addition to being a research center, the Hokes Archives assembles national traveling exhibitions presenting selected works from the collection. A traveling exhibition featuring the "George and Helen Spelvin Folk Art Collection" recently toured the United States. To read an essay about issues raised by this exhibition, CLICK HERE . To download a fifteen-page pdf version of the exhibition text, CLICK HERE .

Correspondence should be addressed to:

Beauvais Lyons, Director
Hokes Archives
School of Art
1715 Volunteer Blvd.
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2410
mobile: 865-387-0542
fax: 865-974-3198
email: blyons@utk.edu