The Museum of Farm and Ideas
The Museum of Farm and Ideas
- Creator: Stephanie Bacon
- Date: 2008
- Location: Library! at Collister
- Types: installations (visual works), collages (visual works)
- Materials: paper (fiber product), mixed media
- Collection: Site-Based Works
Many historic American Library were built and decorated in a neo-classical architectural style. Like 19th century museums, opera houses and symphony halls, grand libraries were designed to convey a sense of permanence and importance. Libraries have always acted as a sort of encyclopedia of knowledge which a culture most values. The Collister Branch Library, like many contemporary buildings in the American west, Rejects the neo-classical style in favor of usability, approachability, durability, and contextual appropriateness. In creating artwork for the Collister Branch Library, the artist selected the theme of The Museum and Farm of Ideas because at its best a library is both a repository of cherished knowledge and a laboratory or farm in which new ideas are cultivated and grown. The Museum and Farm of Ideas acts as an encyclopedia of sorts; it is meant to be read and explored. The collages are a free mixture of found images, drawing and painting, and words, in order to create a free and lively conversation with the books, library users, and library activities. The collages allude to historic library architecture by dividing the world of knowledge into seven spheres; and by assimilating the decorative styles of the world into seven synthetic ornamental capitals.
