UC Riverside brought some expertise and an exhibit of rare images to the world’s largest science fiction convention.
The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy was represented at LA Con V – the 84th Worldcon and fifth to be held in the Los Angeles area, hence the title.
Held Aug. 27 to 31 in Anaheim, the annual convention brought together thousands of fans, authors, academics, and others from the genre.
Phoenix Alexander, the Klein Science Fiction librarian for the Eaton Collection, curated a selection of images from the Jay Kay Klein collection of photographs and papers on science fiction fandom that were displayed in the convention’s exhibit hall. The collection, an ongoing digitization project, features photographs from the 1950s to the 1980s taken by Klein.
Working with UCR Library’s digitization and conservation strategies department, Alexander chose 15 images from LA Con II in 1984 that displayed the history of science fiction fandom. The photographs included the Anaheim Convention Center; panels with legendary writers including George R.R. Martin and recently-announced Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master Nancy Kress; and portraits of luminaries including Octavia E. Butler, Steven Barnes, and Poul Anderson.
Alexander also joined a panel on Southern California science fiction archives that included other academic representatives from the Huntington Library and Cal State Fullerton.
"The exhibit proved incredibly moving for some attendees, who recognized friends in the images and who were present for the 1984 convention itself," he said. "Alongside materials from the Huntington and Cal State Fullerton’s collections, the Klein photographs showcase the long history — and powerful presence — of science fiction in Southern California."
