Bookmarked: Banned Books and Bullets
These are ongoing works in progress.
The Illuminated book and its sacred page introduced me to where imagination and light danced in text and in image. Worlds unfolded for me in books, each distinct and alive with possibilities far beyond the limits of my experience or resources. The public library offers a multiplicity of books and is both a haven and a place that challenges us to consider differing world views.
But there is no art in censorship. Creative thinking is the cornerstone of democratic values and banning books from libraries is anathema. When did democratic values sanction What to think? While bullets, militias and firearms remain strongly protected and available, books are at risk of not.
The works in Bookmarked are not offered as illustrations but rather have been subjected to the censor’s weapon of fire and invite the viewer to consider its historical implications. Each wooden panel work has been shot with bullets and illuminates a classic from the American Library Association’s Banned and Challenged list. The panel platforms are made up of the jewels of the banned text and themes.
When did democracy assent to limiting people’s choice of which books to read? What do time and age teach? What is appropriate speech? Bullets kill but what does speech kill? If these books were not, what would be lost?
Source: The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom who records attempts to remove books.
Special appreciation for Russel Peery from South Carolina, who graciously and legally shot bullet holes through wood panels for this series and who is not responsible for my content.
