The library here in Paducah is sponsoring a strange and wonderful art show in the lobby... they've given out a pile of discarded books and asked random community members to alter them into art pieces-as a re-purposing project, if I understand correctly.
So, don't throw those old books out, but carve them, stack them, add to them and reduce them into art that you can then throw out later!
The stack of books that they dropped off for me were, of course, all Readers Digest Condensed Book collections... what choice did I have? I did this piece that is titled "abridged"...
I am not fond of adbriged books- just philosophically- 'cause when I think about it, that author struggled over every word, then the editor forced them to reconsider and choose even more carefully. The publishers all had their crack at it and someone finally decided that those words- the ones that were so carefully selected, ordered and edited- were worthy of getting into print.
Now someone comes along and gets rid of all of the 'extra' words so that the book (all books apparently) is now a one hour read.
I thought of this sculpture the minute I saw that I got the Readers Digest books... the guts of the books being torn out and thrown away seemed so obvious and fun...
You know what the toughest part of this was? Finding someone with an 'old style' paper shredder that plooped out the long strings and not the confetti.
The show is up at the Library and opens today... check it out... think about Earth Day... and don't forget to take time to smell the quilters!
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