Friday, 30 May 2014

Final Project - Artist #4

I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out how I will position and set-up my final installation. Because my initial space has been taken, and my idea was fairly fixed in it I have to try and find another way to express what I need to. I could either
a) Line them up in a very orderly way - looking almost like a shop display- this would add to the notion of consumerism and excessive buying of material goods from large stores.
b) Precariously and messily stacked on one another so as to point to ideas of instability and an unsuccessful system.
I've included the next artist MATEJ KREN as she uses the second option, albeit in a different way, to create a stacked mass of books

green design, eco design, sustainable design, Prague Municipal Library, Matej Kren, repurposed book tower, recycled books, book sculpture, Idiom, recycle art


"The Prague Municipal Library is now home to a spiraling tower of hundreds of carefully stacked books assembled by Slovakian born artist Matej Kren. Dubbed Idiom, the staggering installation reaches up to the ceiling, and Kren installed a mirror inside the funnel to create the illusion of a magical, unending spire of books.
Matej Kren’s ‘Idiom’ book tower originally appeared in Sao Paulo’s International Biennial in 1995. It consists of hundreds and hundreds of books stacked in a cylindrical pattern with the overlapping style of a Jenga game. A narrow tear-shaped opening creates a ten-foot hole in the side of the tower. The colorful spines of the various books create a rainbow pattern on the outside, while on the inside the well-worn, yellow-tinged pages of the books cast a warm glow.
Patrons of the Prague Municipal Library can peer their heads and shoulders into the tower’s interior. A mirror has been placed on the tower’s floor, replicating the experience of looking down into the waters of a wishing well. Another mirror caps the ceiling, creating an infinity effect. The stacks of books seem to climb and descend endlessly in both directions around the reflection of the visitor themselves.
Matej Kren often uses books to connect viewers with the feeling of infinity, exploring their structural use as well their application as tools of knowledge. Upon the close of many of his installations, the books used in the sculptural cells and structures are returned to their original purpose – the function of being read. The books work together to create these massive structures, and individually to spread the knowledge within their pages." (from http://inhabitat.com/matej-krens-idiom-is-a-spellbinding-tower-made-from-hundreds-of-books/#ixzz33Aw4jzx5)

green design, eco design, sustainable design, Prague Municipal Library, Matej Kren, repurposed book tower, recycled books, book sculpture, Idiom, recycle art

I think the sheer amount of books is what underpins this works success. Given my time constraints, I am concerned that I will not be able to create such an overwhelming mass. Also, when stacked the bowls that I have made may lose height, thus meaning that the long time which their construction took will remain unseen.

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