A 'Tower of Babel' entirely of books in Argentina
View of the "Tower of Babel", an
installation by Argentine artist Marta Minujin made out of thousands of books
written in languages from all over the world, at San Martin square in Buenos
Aires on May 11, 2011. UNESCO declared Buenos Aires as the World Book Capital
2011
Marta Minujin,
Argentina's most famous artist, is known for artwork that is both out-sized and
outlandish. Her latest creation might also be described as vertigo-inducing --
a spiraling, 25-meter-tall (82-foot) tower meant to pay homage to the written
word.In the Plaza San Martin, in the heart of the Argentine capital, Minujin
has erected her latest work -- "The Tower of Babel" -- built from
30,000 books, most of them donations from some 50 embassies. Her mission as an
artist was to "unite all people”.
An "enfant
terrible" of Argentina's art world who has cavorted during her career with
the likes of Andy Warhol and Christo, Minujin is a celebrity who has exhibited
all over the world. She has been a mainstay of the country's avant-garde scene
since the 1960s, famous for works that speak to the public's artistic sensibility,
while at the same time tickling its funny bone. "It's really amusing to be
able to climb up and down a work of art," said Minujin, graced with
emblematic white-blonde hair and ever-present sunglasses. The unveiling this
week of the soaring structure is timed to coincide with the Buenos Aires Book
fair and the city's role this year as the World Book Capital 2011, a
designation conferred by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Minujin, a native of
Buenos Aires, where she was born in 1943, still lives and works in the
Argentine capital, and her artwork is inspired by the motto that
"everything is art".This latest work makes a thematic reference to an
earlier piece of hers, an enormous "Parthenon" of books censured by
Argentina's dictatorship.
Much of her career was
spent overseas, including long sojourns in New York and Paris, and over the
years her work frequently was censored and banned, her hippie sensibility
offending past military regimes. Her first work, in 1963, "La
Destruccion" was mounted in Paris and was an early piece of performance
art, and involved her eviscerating some of her own works, aided at the time by
various friends. She can scarcely believe that she received funding for this
latest piece, in which the books are mounted on an enormous metal spiraling
scaffold.
The books run the
gamut from serious works of philosophy and children's fairy tales and
everything in between. "The United States donated 1,000 books. Ecuador
gave 3,500," said Minujin. She is still exultant as she shows off the
enormous sculpture, floor by floor and book by book -- a work by Kafka in
German, followed by texts in Japanese and in Russian, books of every size and
color. "Look, an anthology of French poetry!" she exclaimed, running
up the spiraling stairs. Nearby there is another European work -- an old issue
of Tintin: "The Calculus Affair."
She notes that there
is one part of the work which cannot be viewed from ground level: the
breathtaking vistas of the Buenos Aires cityscape. "Look at the view from
this castle, she exclaims. "You can see as far away as the river,"
she exclaims, pointing to the majestic river, the Rio de la Plata, in the
distance.
Like much of her work,
she said the "Tower of Babel" is meant to be not only imposing, but
ephemeral, Minujin said. The entire structure is to be disassembled on May 28. "No
one will ever again have a view from this exact place," she said. Even
when it's gone however, the tower will have a lasting legacy -- once taken
apart, the books will form the basis of the first multilingual library in
Buenos Aires. "As of the 28th," said Minujin as she surveyed the
Buenos Aires vista, "the people will be able to keep these books."
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