Art & Libraries

Hello, hello!

It’s been a great summer, bizarre weather notwithstanding. Some of you I’ve been able to see in person, which is a true treat for me. I keep forgetting that people change and grow, especially those under 20. It’s a wake-up call. Must keep learning and exploring to keep up with all of you!

Paper Sculpture left in Nat'l Library of Scotland

For those of you in the Twin Cities, I have learned something new through my library contacts that you may not have seen yet. Hennepin County Library System now has a way to access the art that’s being exhibited in its library branches!

“View art located in Hennepin County libraries at www.hclib.org/art. You can search by location, artist and category, and view pictures of public art photographed by Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) students. Photography was supported with Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds.”

Last year I reported on libraries featuring the art of Rita Kirsch Dungey: Viewing and Buying Art, Karen Searle and Lucy Rose Fisher: The Art of Aging and by Bette Globus Goodman and Jody Stadler: The Art of Aging II. With this system in place, even friends in other states could see examples of the art we’re enjoying here in the metro. It’s an exciting time for artists. If you have time, check it out.

Apparently, fresh art is happening in the libraries in Scotland as well. It all started in the Scottish Poetry Library last March with a mysterious paper creation left anonymously on a table. Then another was found in a second library and then a third, by which time people started spreading the word.

The image above is the second in the series. Go to the blog Central Station to see the entire post, filled with multiple pictures of the sculptures and a timeline of the appearances. It’s a wonderful article about someone (an individual? a group?) who so loves libraries that they’ve dedicated hours of creativity not only in each art piece, but in the accompanying tags that hint of their broader purpose.

Paper Dragon & Egg found in Scottish Storytelling Center

Here’s a second image from that article, of a lovely piece found in a window. I highly encourage you to check out the Central Station Blog as the authors did an incredible job of getting all the photos and tracking the story. It happened all this year, with new art discovered as recently as August.

Isn’t the world a fantastic place?

Hope you’re all observing the art we have around us, whether it’s a blue sky and outrageous clouds, trees bedecking themselves in glorious color or the art of a full library. Enjoy! —Chris