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Image from Bellevuearts.org
Full disclosure here: I don't do museums. This isn't to say I don't like them, it's just I don't really enjoy them. Most of the time I'm bored out of my skull and wind up spending more time in the gift shop than looking at the actual exhibits. However, give me a library (old or new) and I'll spend hours walking around and exploring the building. I can't even go on vacation without visiting a library. I have dozens of photos to prove it.
I'll also admit that I don't get over to the eastside as much as I'd like, but last night found me at the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) with friends checking out the new Book Borrowers exhibition. The exhibition, curated by Nora Atkinson, opened February 24th. The exhibition features the work of 13 local artists like Jane Lackey, Gary Berg, and James Allen, as well as national artists artists like Georgia Russell. According to the museum website,
The Book Borrowers is both a nostalgic homage to the book and a reflection on our current progression beyond it. Pieces in the exhibition explore the book’s inherent qualities and reflect upon this unique juncture in time. The works in this exhibition reveal new and unexpected layers of meaning that go beyond the book as a source of information and offer a fresh look at its place in an increasingly digitally oriented world.
Though the exhibition is small (only 31 pieces total) it is impressive. Old books, magazines, encyclopedias, and phone books have been altered and transformed into the head of Buddha, firewood, and the core of a tree. The most impressive piece was done by Canadian artist Guy Laramee who sandblasted 80 Encyclopedia Britannicas into the Grand Canyon. This piece, done in 2003-2004, is appropriately called La Grande Bibliotheque.
Another highlight of the exhibition was the Yuken Teruya's 2009 piece Breath on My Found Line which transformed the book The Giving Tree into an impressive 3-d forest.
The Book Borrowers exhibit runs through June 14th, 2009. The show is part of the museum's ongoing Material Evidence exhibition.
Comments
Thank you for visiting BAM - and for writing such a great post about it. Bellevue Arts Museum frequently step out of 'The Museum' box and I'd encourage you to give it another try down the road.
Thank you for making the trip to Bellevue to visit BAM! I'm excited to hear you enjoyed the exhibit(s)! Come back soon!
~tanja
(BAM's Marketing & PR gal)
Thank you, I will!
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