2008 Woodie Awards
Turning the catalogue into art
Maggie Anderson - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 4/5/06 Section: Arts
Robert Possehl, working among chattering students and curious onlookers in the Main Library north lobby on Sunday, strung fishing line with yellowed 3-x-5-inch cards, then added them to the floating array of rectangles attached to a wire bird's nest hung from the ceiling.
Possehl, an installation artist and educator, said he often creates community projects exploring the topic of "the book" and based on "drawings" he, and hopefully his audience, see in the structure.
"I always enjoyed, pre-Google, how there were three ways to get to a book - the subject, the author, and the title. You have to know something about [the book]" to begin the hunt, the Viroqua, Wis., native said. And often new avenues of exploration open during each search.
Possehl's latest installation piece celebrates the finale of cARTalog, a six-month library project that aims to transform an outdated card catalogue into art. UI Libraries employees sent cards to more than 400 people in 34 states and six countries - the 60-some pieces of work on display represent the return. CARTalog: The Festival will begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Shambaugh Auditorium.
In addition to the exhibition, the event will include performances by local musician Peter Balestrieri and his improvisation group, Din, the comedy-improv group Lightning in a Bottle, and UI student Justine Nakase's children's theater piece, titled "Laughter, Liberty, Library: A Card Catalogue Adventure."
Although works on display range from knitted pillows to miniature books and watercolors, many cARTalog contributors used the words on their cards as jumping points. For example, Cheryl Jacobsen, an adjunct assistant professor at the UI Center for the Book, chose cards with such titles as "Lettering as Drawing." She mounted the cards on black paper with red matting and drew phrases such as "The Moving Line" in elegant, looping calligraphy.
Possehl, an installation artist and educator, said he often creates community projects exploring the topic of "the book" and based on "drawings" he, and hopefully his audience, see in the structure.
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"I always enjoyed, pre-Google, how there were three ways to get to a book - the subject, the author, and the title. You have to know something about [the book]" to begin the hunt, the Viroqua, Wis., native said. And often new avenues of exploration open during each search.
Possehl's latest installation piece celebrates the finale of cARTalog, a six-month library project that aims to transform an outdated card catalogue into art. UI Libraries employees sent cards to more than 400 people in 34 states and six countries - the 60-some pieces of work on display represent the return. CARTalog: The Festival will begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Shambaugh Auditorium.
In addition to the exhibition, the event will include performances by local musician Peter Balestrieri and his improvisation group, Din, the comedy-improv group Lightning in a Bottle, and UI student Justine Nakase's children's theater piece, titled "Laughter, Liberty, Library: A Card Catalogue Adventure."
Although works on display range from knitted pillows to miniature books and watercolors, many cARTalog contributors used the words on their cards as jumping points. For example, Cheryl Jacobsen, an adjunct assistant professor at the UI Center for the Book, chose cards with such titles as "Lettering as Drawing." She mounted the cards on black paper with red matting and drew phrases such as "The Moving Line" in elegant, looping calligraphy.
