Installation at the Central Library, Indianapolis, IN
In 2024, I installed two related projects at the Central Library, the downtown branch of the Indianapolis Public Library system. The work was installed in two display cases—one on the 3rd floor and the other on the 5th. Below are installation images and information about the work, which was also included on hand written labels within the cases.
3rd Floor Case:
Mark Rospenda
Personal Library with Bookends
2019–ongoing
Paper pulp (recycled failed drawings and other papers), cut paper, graphite
This work is part of my Personal Library. Each book form is made to the same dimensions as a book in my personal library.
A number of the books included here are some of my favorites and have been impactful in my life. Many can also be found in the Indianapolis Public Library's collection, including:
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, 1953, SF BRA
One Hundred Demons, by Lynda Barry, 2002, GN BAR
1984, by George Orwell, 1977, FIC ORW
Ways of Seeing, by John Berger, 1985, N 7430.5 .W39 1982
The Elements of Style, 5th Ed., by Strunk and White, 2009, 808 STR 2009
The Art of Memory, by Frances A. Yates, 1966, 153.14 YAT
The Society of the Spectacle, by Guy Debord, 1967, 301.01 DEB
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, 1929, FIC REM
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, 1954, FIC GOL
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937, SF TOL
The Civil War: An Illustrated History, by Ward, Geoffrey C., 1990, 973.7 WAR
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, 2000, 808.02 KIN 2020
While the services public libraries provide communities today are incredibly expansive and varied, books remain the most iconic visual aspect of their activities. I’ve always found joy in walking through the stacks of any library and being physically surrounded by so much information on paper—all of it within reach. And I love the beauty of chance discoveries. Of finding something I didn’t know I was looking for.
Just like books within a library, everything we experience is interpreted, cataloged and stored. I imagine we create internal libraries in this way. But in contrast to public ones, these internal libraries are built for a single patron.
Studies have proven that every time we access a memory, that memory changes when it is re-stored (re-shelved), indicating that our internal libraries are in a constant state of movement and transformation. Thoughts and ideas are blended, shelved, reexamined (remembered), and some are discarded. Nothing becomes a part of our library without first being transformed in relation to what’s already there. And then transforming again. And again...
There is a companion installation of work in a case on the 5th floor.
5th Floor Case:
Mark Rospenda
Furthermore, Or, Then, And,… (Transition Words and Phrases)
2019–ongoing
Paper pulp (recycled failed drawings and other papers)
These book forms are each made to the same dimensions as a book in my personal library. The letterforms inlaid within the face of many of them are transitional words and phrases. The function of these parts of speech is to connect one idea to another and are integral to the development and communication of complex thoughts and ideas.
Included are:
Furthermore
Or
Then
And
Since
Therefore
Including
Like
While
Also
But
Likewise
Thus
Despite this
In other words
So
Mark Rospenda
Armor Relic
2023
Paper pulp (recycled failed drawings and other papers), cast paper
The “armor” that surrounds the cast bone is based on ancient scale mail armor forms. It is composed of off-cuts from creating the book forms in Personal Library (see the case on floor 3) and Transition Words and Phrases. The armor symbolizes how lifelong learning helps us grow and protects us from disinformation.
There is a companion installation of work in a case on the 3rd floor.