Mahoney Library is currently exhibiting the work of nineteen contemporary artists involved in the Encyclopedia Britannica Project, which was originally displayed at the Belskie Museum of Art in Closter, NJ. The opening, held on Thursday October 27, was a well attended event in which many of the artists were present and mingled with students, faculty, and staff. It provided an opportunity for the college to engage with professional artists in the area, and took advantage of the library’s newly available open spaces which have been used for a variety of college related events.
Gallery View - Encyclopedia Britannica Project, Mahoney Library, October 2011
Each artist in the show was given a volume of the venerable reference work and asked to create a sculptural piece incorporating the actual text. The variety of responses has been astounding. Pages have been cut, pasted, stitched, woven, sown, exposed to earth, water, air and fire, combined with other provocative objects and imagery, even ground up and, through the paper-making process, reconstituted into an entirely different form. However, regardless of the means by which these artists carried out their work, they all remained focused on their own personal exploration of what the encyclopedia means to them. As noted in the opening statement for the exhibition:
In all cases it is the physical properties of the encyclopedia itself that act as the platform on which the meanings of each piece play out. It is this interplay between material form and literary content that these works are ultimately about and how changes in one will necessarily affect the other.
Looking into the Exhibition - Encyclopedia Britannica Project, Mahoney Library, October 2011
The objects have been on view in the periodicals wing of the library since last Friday, and have attracted the attention of unsuspecting students and faculty alike. After a curious glance in the direction of the display, onlookers wander towards the first piece attracting their attention, only to find eighteen more awaiting their viewing. Half an hour or so later these same faculty and students are rushing off to class, returning to their busy schedule.
Visitor Viewing 'Elements' - Encyclopedia Britannica Project, Mahoney Library, October 2011
The work is unquestioningly modern in its demeanor, ranging from Dada to Surrealism to Pop. Nonetheless, there is a craftsman’s aesthetic at work here as well, inherent in the extraordinary manipulation of materials found in these objects. After spending some time with the work you may find that your first impressions change from bizarre bewilderment to growing appreciation, as the objects begin to reveal their own internal logic and meaning. Be forewarned, viewing the work can be addicting and you may end up spending more time with them then you had initially planned.
The nineteen works will be on display until December 8th.
Megabyte Man - Encyclopedia Britannica Project, Mahoney Library, October 2011
Delivering Work into the Library - Encyclopedia Britannica Project, Mahoney Library, October 2011
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