2007; stainless steel, glass, L.E.D. lights, landscaping; 16’H x 36’W x 29’D; Metropolitan State University Library; St. Paul, MN. Commissioned by the Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places Program.
Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ story “The Library of Babel” and the role of cyberspace in the future of the library, computer-generated letters were cut into the clusters of stainless steel hexagons. Glass panels with crimson 0’s and 1’s, the basis of Boolean algebra, create added complexity. The resulting latticework creates a visual labyrinth that is both dense and transparent, suggesting the infinite layering of all possible knowledge and information.
© Janet Lofquist