The public is invited to visit the Temporary Central Library, 800 Pike St., to listen to a sound installation created around the theme “Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Library. ”
Called “Audio Art Walk,” the piece is a dramatic, five-channel sound installation that transforms the stairwell between the second and third floors of the library into a passageway of animated sounds, dialogue and interviews.
The installation, created by sound artist Franklin Joyce in collaboration with computer-based musician Andy Rohrmann, will be audible during the library’s open hours through Thursday, July 3.
Plans are to air the piece online at http://www.seattle.gov/arts/showcase/peephole/ through Wednesday, Dec. 31. Audio Art Walk is part of The Peephole Series sponsored by the Library and the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (formerly the Seattle Arts Commission). The Peephole Series is funded by Arts & Cultural Affairs.
Like a peephole in a construction fence, the library-related temporary public art projects are intended to provide the public with insights into the development of the new Central Library and to promote discussion about the place a 21st century library holds in a democratic society. The artwork will be staged throughout 2003, leading up to the completion of the new library in spring 2004.
The new 362,987-square-foot Central Library was designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in a joint venture with Seattle-based LMN Architects. The building is currently under construction at 1000 Fourth Ave.
Joyce said his focus is on collaborative new media art works that engage and incorporate audiences.
“ Energetic public spaces inspire projects and are their locations,” said the Central District new media artist. “I seek out collaborative partners – artists, friends, musicians – who are heroic in small but significant ways. Together we create innovative projection and sound installations that reimagine how technology and art shape the way individuals interact with the everyday world. ”
Joyce specializes in media development and projection design for commercial and non-commercial clients. Exhibitions and performances include work at Siggraph, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and the Montreal Festival of New Media. Learn more about Joyce ’s work at www.electricbaby.com.
The first piece in The Peephole Series – Decimal•Points by Helen Lessick – was unveiled in March. Based on the basic premise of Dewey’s classification system, Decimal•Points features 10 original works of research and visual art. Staff members at the first-floor checkout desk at the Temporary Central Library, 800 Pike St., will distribute the bookmarks the first week of every month through 2003.
The second piece – The Peephole Theatres by Edie Whitsett – was
installed in mid-May on the Fourth Avenue side of the construction
site of the new Central Library. The four toy theatres, which are modeled
on historic
toy theatres from the 19th century, illustrate books in The Seattle
Public Library collection. The theatres will be on display through the summer.
Other artists who are part of The Peephole Series:
Larry Stein, a Queen Anne audio producer, reporter and documentarian, will create a half-hour radio documentary that will feature library activities such as book discussions, story times and Talk Time. Projected completion: July.
Jim Woodring, a University District cartoonist, will develop three, short animated cartoons in which his best known character, Frank, explores books selected from the library’s collection. Projected completion: July.
Stokley Towles, a Capitol Hill performance artist, will mount a series of lunchtime performances on the present life and history of the Central Library. Projected completion: Aug. 4-17.
The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, the city agency that promotes the value of arts and culture in and of communities throughout Seattle, manages the Library ’s public art program.
Voters approved the new Central Library in 1998 as part of the $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond measure. The bond money, which can be used only for construction of libraries, will fund improvements to all 22 branches, build five new branches and build the new Central Library.
For more information about “Libraries for All,” visit the Library’s Web site at www.spl.org.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, Library communications assistant, at 206-615-1627, or Karen L. Bystrom, communications director, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, at 206-684-7306 .)
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Content modified:
12/30/2005
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