Cleveland Public Library, Eastman Reading Gallery SeeAlso Commission, 2015
SeeAlso Public Art Commission for the Cleveland Public Library's Eastman Reading Gallery
This commission is an illustration of the transformative quality of knowledge- the free knowledge that is gained within the walls of the library, between the pages of the books, and then taken out into the world. On one balcony, an adult figure is represented with an owl, a symbol of Minerva. She stands with one hand on a lion and one hand pointing towards the garden. Her gaze is fixed on a child who is perched on the second balcony. This child’s arms are transforming into red birds that are flying towards an elephant that is standing on a mound of hearts perched atop of a 4-foot plinth in the heart of the garden. The elephant is balancing a bookshelf/obelisk in its back. Various other animals are swimming through the garden, making their migration to the elephant. My elephant is based off of Bernini’s Elephant and Obelisk located in the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, Italy. Inscribed on the plinth of Bernini’s elephant is the statement, You, whoever you are, who see that the figures of wise Egypt sculpted on the obelisk are being carried by an elephant, the strongest of beasts, understand that it is proof of a strong mind to sustain solid wisdom. This statement stood as the grounding source for the conception of this body of work.
