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Design
Not Just For Bookworms: Helsinki’s Oodi Central Library Connects Residents Through Multi-Faceted Cultural Resources
Readers, researchers, and other curious residents are encouraged to gather together in a massive new ship-shaped library in Helsinki, Finland. Designed by ALA Architects, Oodi Central Library, the long and narrow structure features a sweeping wooden exterior topped with two stories of glass walls. Oodi Central Library is situated in the heart of Helsinki, nestled in the capital city’s cultural district. About one-third of the space is dedicated to books. A cafe, restaurant, public balcony, movie theater, recording studios, and a maker-space broaden the institution’s ability to connect with, and serve the needs of, a diverse population.
The effort seems to have paid off: in the library’s first month about two-thirds of Helsinki’s residents visited the library, and it has had 3 million visitors so far in 2019, according to Tommi Laitio, Helsinki’s Executive Director for culture and leisure. Laitio explained in a recent conference talk in Washington, D.C. that it is essential in their small country for people to respect and invest in their fellow residents. “Our society is fundamentally dependent on people being able to trust the kindness of strangers.” (via Kottke)
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Art History
Classic American Ephemera Recreated in Clay by Artist Kristen Morgin
“Monopoly” (2007) (Collection Kristen L. Morgin, image courtesy of the artist and Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Beverly Hills)
Kristen Morgin creates objects that at first seem forgettable. Each piece shows evidence of wear, containing the rust and rips of things that have ceased to be cared for long ago. Despite their appearance of cardboard, tin, and paper, the works, which reflect American culture’s ephemera, are actually created entirely from unfired clay. The records, VHS sleeves, board games, and figurines are all illusions, recreations of mementos lost to time.
Morgin keeps her pieces unfired to retain the natural texture and look of the clay, a material that changes drastically once altered by fire. Like the objects that they imitate, her sculptures are meant to eventually crumble, possibly holding an even shorter lifespan than what they resemble. The content of these works focuses on fantasy versus reality, highlighting celebrity and beauty that has long past, created by a material that is not what it seems.
Morgin’s work is included in the four-artist exhibition “Visions and Revisions: Renwick Invitational 2016” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. through January 8, 2017. (via Smithsonian Mag)
“Sorryland” (2012), unfired clay, paint, ink and marker, 28 x 20 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches (image courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts)
“The Repeating Table” (2010), wood, books, toys, records with clay painted counterparts, 45 x 68 x 108 inches (image courtesy of Zach Feuer)
“150 Ways to Play Solitaire” (2010), wood, wire and unfired painted clay, 34 x 34 x 12 inches (image courtesy of Zach Feuer)
“Still Life As The Alphabet” (2013), unfired clay, paint, ink, graphite, wood, 5.5 x 37 x 2 in (image courtesy of Zach Feuer)
“Still Life As A Conga Line” (detail), (2014), unfired clay, paint, ink, graphite, 18 x 96 inches (image courtesy of Zach Feuer)
“Ecstasy Pyramid” (2016), unfired clay, paint, ink, marker, crayon and graphite, 38 x 37 x 2 inches (image courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts)
“Another Wonderful Day” (2013), unfired clay, pint, ink, crayon, graphite, 12.25 x 12.25 x 0.25 inches (image courtesy of Zach Feuer)
“Space Invader” (2012), unfired clay, paint, ink, graphite and wire, 13 3/4 x 16 1/2 x 1/4 inches (image courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts)
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Editor's Picks: Animation
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