What Struck you as creative?
So I am not really a modern art person but I really enjoyed most of this exhibit and found it an interesting idea and way to showcase it. I loved how you could pass by something and then look closer and find something else like the patchwork made up of the tiniest words ever, or my husband and I walked past the pile of rubber in the corner, and he said "See, this is why modern art is stupid, you put a pile of rubber in a corner and call it art" When we looked closer they were each little mini letters of the alphabet, they were so microscopic though you had to look close. The giant book tower was definitely very creative, to me the most intersting part was thinking about each and every book. Where did he get all these? Some looked old and some looked new, some had names written on them, it was cool to think that every book probably had a story and the person who owned it had a story, it was not just a homage to books but to people who read!!
What made the pieces creative?
So the whole point to me was that the printed word is dying, people can't write anymore with spell check, children's reading levels are way down and we are becoming a population of "skimmers". I thought the washing machine was interesting in relaying this idea, turning the written word into pulp. Also the idea of the rubber letters again, so creative, about how all the text would just fall out of the books, we would be left with blank pages to reinvent again! I was not a huge fan of the wooden looking structures on the left wall, I just didn't really connect with them as I did the other pieces.
How did the Authors come up with this?
I love to think about the idea that struck someone at a random point in time and then came to life, I wonder what inspired the book tower, was he in a library? was he viewing architecture, was he a book collector? The idea from the bible art was obviously inspired by a homeless woman, who was not an artist at all, but someone saw beauty in a relatively ordinary thing and it really is a unique communication to see, so for that the viewers are grateful. I read an article a while ago called "is google making us stupid?"
It claims that the internet is “tinkering” with our brains and ability to read thoroughly. He says it is eroding our ability to intellectually concentrate and contemplate -- the key mental requisites that enable us to effectively consume and digest books. Instead of readers, the digital revolution is transforming us all into skimmers.
This exhibit really made me think about that...is the internet killing the modern day reader? will our kids read paperbacks or only read books online or is that all they should know? they need to know how to glean information from the internet to be successful?
Anyways this is getting out of hand but i guess you know it is good art when it is thought provoking like that!
I like your idea that the stack of books was for the people who read the books, and not actually about the books themselves...insightful
ReplyDeleteI was definitely thinking about the sam thing (print dying) while i was there and and all the effects that the internet and other digital meia has had on our ability to communicate. its a tough question to answer!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of skimmers, I almost skipped right over your post because it was so long! Haha! Mine was long too, but I'm glad I didn't skip yours. I didn't think of the exhibit in that way (print dying) and looking back on it, a lot of those pieces take on new meaning when you look at it that way.
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