By leaves we live
January 13, 2015 12:59 PM Subscribe
I'm glad she's still at it, still anonymous, and apparently very stridently not making money at it.
posted by mephron at 1:27 PM on January 13, 2015
posted by mephron at 1:27 PM on January 13, 2015
Wowzer!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:02 PM on January 13, 2015
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:02 PM on January 13, 2015
I'm glad she's still at it, still anonymous, and apparently very stridently not making money at it.
Actually, I wish she did make money because then she could be part of the solution to the motive she did it:
The first book sculpture, a little tree for The Scottish Poetry Library, was made primarily as a response to library closures and cutbacks.
It would have been a wonderful and ingenious way to raise money by auctioning them off and solving the very problem that compelled her to do it in the first place...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 3:27 PM on January 13, 2015
Actually, I wish she did make money because then she could be part of the solution to the motive she did it:
The first book sculpture, a little tree for The Scottish Poetry Library, was made primarily as a response to library closures and cutbacks.
It would have been a wonderful and ingenious way to raise money by auctioning them off and solving the very problem that compelled her to do it in the first place...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 3:27 PM on January 13, 2015
I know someone who just closely enough fits the character and skills shown in the interview, and while it's unlikely it's actually her, I'm pleased as punch to recognise the generosity of spirit I know in my acquaintance as being something which clearly exists in at least two people in one largish city.
posted by ambrosen at 4:06 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ambrosen at 4:06 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Alexandra Kitty, the idea of a public library being dependent on the success of an art auction or private generosity as opposed to being supported as a civil necessity is just - that's not what a public library should be. Both can exist side by side quite wonderfully but the public funding of a public library is crucial.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:17 PM on January 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by viggorlijah at 7:17 PM on January 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Alexandra Kitty, the idea of a public library being dependent on the success of an art auction or private generosity as opposed to being supported as a civil necessity is just - that's not what a public library should be. Both can exist side by side quite wonderfully but the public funding of a public library is crucial.
I totally disagree with you. I do not believe in public funding because it is a passive and defeatist way to keep crucial sectors operating. I see the toxic mindset and artificial borders it creates in people's minds. This is the perfect example of it.
Artists tend to retreat and don't seem to get that everything we do is a form of communication. An art auction is a wonderful thing because it is a two-way form of communicating. You let the public hear about places like the library, you let them learn about the arts and reading, you get someone with talent who otherwise would never get exposure become known -- all this and it serves a greater function of not being dependent on a hand-out.
Making money is not a dirty thing. Raising money is as moral or immoral as the one raising it.
You have to use everything you have at your disposal -- hand outs (and public funding is a hand out) is a form of slavery: there are shackles attached and you literally become kept. Libraries are supposed to be liberating and open new worlds to people and they cannot do that if they do not practice what they preach...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 7:09 AM on January 15, 2015
I totally disagree with you. I do not believe in public funding because it is a passive and defeatist way to keep crucial sectors operating. I see the toxic mindset and artificial borders it creates in people's minds. This is the perfect example of it.
Artists tend to retreat and don't seem to get that everything we do is a form of communication. An art auction is a wonderful thing because it is a two-way form of communicating. You let the public hear about places like the library, you let them learn about the arts and reading, you get someone with talent who otherwise would never get exposure become known -- all this and it serves a greater function of not being dependent on a hand-out.
Making money is not a dirty thing. Raising money is as moral or immoral as the one raising it.
You have to use everything you have at your disposal -- hand outs (and public funding is a hand out) is a form of slavery: there are shackles attached and you literally become kept. Libraries are supposed to be liberating and open new worlds to people and they cannot do that if they do not practice what they preach...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 7:09 AM on January 15, 2015
I think we'll have to disagree, as I'm pretty keen on nationally-funded libraries and other public services, with active public involvement, alongside independent private and community-directed services as a mixed ecology. I don't think making money is wrong, and neither is using public-raised funds. What there need to be are more libraries, not fewer.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:13 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by viggorlijah at 7:13 PM on January 15, 2015
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So it was delightful to read the interview and resolve some of those questions. I actually liked that the book sculptor decided to remain anonymous and that "galleries, museums, and libraries are a better focus and a lot less ordinary"; it is also rare to see someone have that sentiment in today's age. Also, by not revealing her identity and not answering the question as to whether the butterfly sculpture was her last, it allows the story to continue; the book sculptor could be anyone and where will she strike next? What creatures will spring to life from a book and where will they appear?
Thanks for posting this - the BBC is my main news source, but I don't think that I would have found this story.
posted by Wolfster at 1:25 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]