Pulp Fictions

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Pulp Fictions
the stories we tell about paper / the stories paper tells us about ourselves

April 16–August 14, 2026 @ Special Collections Research Center, Fenwick Library

A gallery with gleaming glass cases and a green wall. The cases are filled with small book-like objects.

The SCRC Gallery in Fenwick Library

What are the stories we tell about paper? What stories does paper tell us about ourselves? Drawing from the manuscripts, archives, and rare book collections in Special Collections Research Center, Pulp Fictions explores the ways we think and talk about paper as a surface, a medium, and a material.

Paper is the stuff of our past, but even in an ever-more-digital age, paper holds endless future potential. Through artists books, letters, manuscripts, rare books, and even damaged books, the items in this exhibit explore a range of histories, uses, and stories about paper: its metaphorical and literal value as a carrier of knowledge; its material expansiveness, fragility, and flexibility; its function as a tool of political control or social organization; and its place in the practice of art, meaning-making, and representation.

Organized in conjunction with the Mason School of Art’s Paper as Politic symposium and Fenwick Gallery’s Pulp Translations, Pulp Fictions considers the broad possibilities of a simple piece of paper.

This exhibition was co-curated by Stephanie Grimm, Art and Exhibitions Librarian, and Amy Sullivan, Preservation Officer.

The Special Collections Research Center gallery is located on the 2nd floor of Fenwick Library on George Mason’s Fairfax campus and is open during library business hours.