Materials: Recycled Books, String, Acrylic Housepaint.
| In November 1991, I made an object, a Black Book, right after reading a small article in a local newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, which said the Public Libraries in Baltimore were threatened with the closure of seven of their branches. Since I had been in love with the American library system, I proposed an installation that was executed in front of the main library in downtown Baltimore. It was done with the enthusiastic approval of the community. The installation took place in the front of the library doors, from the entrance to the street using 100 black books. People passing by, going into and coming out of the library had to slow down and be in the installation. People on the other side of the street who were waiting in a line for the Soup Kitchen at a church cheered what was happening in front of the library. It turned out that the branches were saved, at least for the next year. This work is about the continued viability of public libraries, in particular, and how artists can be part of the community. | ||
