Beginning Tuesday, May 13, library fans and passersby are invited to visit the construction site of the new Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., to view four toy theatres that illustrate books in The Seattle Public Library collection.
The Peephole Theatres, created by set designer Edie Whitsett, will be installed behind the construction fence at the library site. Two theatres will be located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Spring Street; another two will be installed at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Madison Street.
The theatres, which will be on display through the summer, are 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 Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in a joint venture with Seattle-based LMN Architects. The building is currently under construction at 1000 Fourth Ave.
The miniature theatres – which are less than 3 feet wide and just more than 1 foot deep – are boxed inside of Plexiglas for protection.
The theatres are modeled on historic toy theatres from the 19th century. Scenery and characters are painted on paper, then are cut out and mounted on boards to create wings and backdrops like a real theatre. The theatres can be seen only through a monocular peephole, creating an interesting play on spatial dimensions.
Whitsett said she wanted to “emphasize the unique dimensional qualities of the two-dimensional illustrations in a three-dimensional setting.”
The titles represented are “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” a Sherlock Holmes tale by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Golden Compass,” a children’s fantasy by Philip Pullman, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, and “Out of the Silent Planet,” a science fiction book by C.S. Lewis.
“I have been fascinated by the graphic art component of theatre since high school and I am still designing sets 25 years later,” said Whitsett, of Licton Springs. “My favorite projects are plays with a strong visual identity and perhaps a pun or two.”
Whitsett’s set designs have been on stage at many Seattle theatres, including Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera and Seattle Repertory Theatre. She paints the sets for many of her designs and heads the paint shop for Pacific Northwest Ballet. She also is active in her neighborhood, working with ProParks to create an art walk in Mineral Springs Park.
The first artwork 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.
Other artists who are part of The Peephole Series:
The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, a city department working to increase public awareness of and support for the arts, is managing 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: 9 May 2003
12/30/2005
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