January 21, 2009

Adventures in Library Land part 2.

Continuing to poke around my library. The Natural Sciences Center caught my eye. It is located in the center of the library and is encased by glass so visitors too feel like specimens when exploring the curiosities within, large study tables facing one of the walls. The masks  in Part 1 protrude from a wall across the hall; it as if they too are peering through the glass at you. I love how these architectural and artistic nuances converge to create an uncanny little experience. Thanks to Photoshop my snapshots came out well considering how quickly I moved through the space under the direct gaze of these masks. When I was originally editing the first set of photos I added speech bubbles to the masks in which they alluded to the treasures on the other side of the glass and, therefore, also to this post, but later deleted them thinking it too childish.




I want to make dioramas of my own with chamberpots and robots.


Lots of editing to bring out the contrast between the hearts and the gelatinous solution in which they are suspended. The cross-section looks like an eerie fruit. 


I will never forget having to dissect a rat in highschool. At least I never had to touch it since I deliberately partnered with an affable nerd. Sometimes as I walk by library patrons I detect the scent of fermaldehyde lingering in the air and hope its just my imagination.


A little artistic editing here but I tried to keep the beautiful texture and colors of their wings intact. A self portrait indicating a rebirth of sorts? I'm not sure.

This exercise somehow managed to lead me down a spiral path in Amazon's book search resulting in about 50 book requests divied up between my college and local libraries for books on curiousities, robots, natural history museums, automata, pop-up books, puppets, hand shadows, the evolution of the silver screen, and more (click on my Shelfari widget to see the titles!). I dream of a magical room in the house we will have which will be devoted to books and swaddled by built in bookshelves. Agent P has sworn to help construct my dream library and insists upon installing one of those moving ladders as seen in Beauty and the Beast (my favorite part of the movie when I was little was when Belle was in the Beast's library). I crave bookshelves. I have only two stout ones from childhood which do not begin to cradle my collection. Consequently, I am fixated on having proper bookshelves and think to myself that my bedroom would be so perfect and organized if only I possessed them. I will continue to be the Oscar to Agent P.'s Felix regardless of fixtures to be sure :) 
Are you fixated on anything at the moment?
xo Lara

2 comments:

Unknown said...

oh, that rat is hard to look at...we have lots of bookcases, but they are never enough. The new studio will have a wall of them, we'll see how long that satisfies things :)

Anonymous said...

I also crave bookshelves. They are addicting. The more you have, the more you fill up...it's craziness I tell you! I have yet to have one of those ladders though----wouldn't that be wonderful.

I love your photos, especially the heart.