Digitale Bücher in der Kunst

Not all digital books are necessarily e-books. Korean artist Airan Kang’s “Light Reading” show was on exhibit at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery until this past weekend (sorry that I’m only getting around to blogging this now). In one installation, she made stacks out of plastic books that pulsated and glowed in different colors. In another, she created a display of open “books” decorated with scrolling LED texts by the likes of Lord Byron and Robert Frost. She filled entire bookshelves with her mesmerizing and shimmering books. Another installation was built upon images of famous libraries and bookstores, images that were lent an almost three-dimensional depth via manipulation of the lighted surfaces.
See also a cool video about Airan Kang.

Given how the design of libraries has almost grown to be more important than the books that are housed within them, it is more crucial than ever to consider the aesthetics of a particular space. An installation by Airan Kang would surely make any library more attractive.

A recent New Yorker cover illustrated a variation on the theme of digital books and the future of reading: hundreds of concerned books peer out of the shelves at a lone reader… who is deeply enthralled by his laptop.