Beginning of library residency,...

what will be the contents of my time there...

Met library staff today and picked up my key to the room I'm working in.  Staff were great, warm, friendly, busy, but helpful and seem interested and excited about what I'm planning to do. They offered lots of suggestions, the use of cords, the possiblity of a son riding a scate board through the  book sorting-mchine room..need to learn the term for it... but the really big help was finding that I could use a stack of  discontinued books that were being trashed because they were damaged. These books, without covers are lovely shades of creams and bones... with threads and sewing visible at the spine...

Now  the library itself.

First impression, overwhelm, Sandra caught me up with the library filing system.  Sitting watching how things work is interesting, did that while looking busy, The library is filled with lots of people. lots are curious about me, especially when I take over and start stacking books in my glass studio space on the first floor-fel quite exposed there, nothing like my studio at home...  they watch me, that I have a key is noticed.  I've put up a sign but the rooms too dark nobody can read it, Sandra suggested a digital/movie presentation out the front of the library...to indicate that I'm here... will do this weekend.

Started on the first of my ideas before I started here... that was to cover some books with bright pink paper...to echo the pink light on the stacks and to photograph them as an animation...bit nervous that I will interupt people looking for books...worked the Australian history section, nobody seemed interested in it this afternoon...

dont know if this worked...I find the aesthetics of the library space hard. It is visually hard, metal, angels...order, systems. Any break with that looks messy very easily, which is often my way.  So it will be interesting to see how I can interect with the building, the staff and the collection...what will be possible and how to negotiate each step.

Interested in what?...whats not in the collection, how to engage people with the collection in different ways. The fiction is all on one side, orange, except the litrature, pink, its put with the non-fiction, what does this mean...want to get some critical threads running into and through the collection, treasure chest idea mentioned a few times, I'm thinking at the moment of  making a flash presentation that refers to certain books and either quotes certain passages or indicates where the good bits are in them, found some cheap erotica in the throw out pile...the good bits were on page 108 and 115. Thats important info. Or when the woman got her man, or when the guy gets shot or when the dog finds the boy stuff like that. Its sort of dumb, but interesting infomation. Sort of over helpful. Offered in a semi official frame it could be both quite silly and interesting to see what people do with it.

trying two other frames for films...the first photographing gardens, from books... weird.

the other  idea is the 'contents page possibility'...this collection would feature  'the contents ' pages of twenty or so books, could be made into books and also digital presentations...

Comments

[libtrain]

Hi Jena, I have always found it amusing that people who use libraries just leave their books, magazines,newspapers, comic books, dvds etc lying around wherever they were using them. We were always taught to put things back where we got them from (or as close as possible). Anyway, I was visualising all these "piles" lying around the library on stools, chairs, floors etc. and thought of the visual impact (photographic possibilities). I thought it could be a true pictorial display of library usage. A bit wacky but I'm new to this "thinking outside the square stuff". :)

[jena]

BRILLIANT...yes i I agree and think that is such an interesting idea...I see it too, small scattered piles throughthe place, like half digested thoughts, I think it could be quite funny, and also interesting to look at and play with-scale andrepitition would be the things that make it obvios something is going on. I would like to try it out this coming week...I have a huge pile of books that have had their covers removed, maybe youve seen them buiding up in my art space, and they would be a good neutral start...I'll definitely try it out and post some pictures on this blog...maybe you'll se them in the library...if you are interested in collaboating on your brilliant idea and helping pile high!!, just let me know. extra hands make much more fun! thankyou for the idea...

[Liz Shelton]

Just want to comment on the comment about leaving library books around. I have worked in libraries and now run my own library and it drives most librarians mad when people try to put things back, because they put them in the wrong place and then they can never be found again!! Well, almost. Didn't get to see Majena's works except on the net, but it looked very interesting, and such a fun thing to do.