Now What Can I Do?

Josette Urso's 'Go Go' 

Thanks to our increasingly shrinking attention spans, the 20 million books at the New York Public Library probably won’t keep our interest forever... so then what?  Or as my students say daily, “now what can I do?” (the answer is always, "read!") If your lucky enough to live in New York you can go see some of the New York Public library’s free exhibitions in person.  If your lucky enough  to live somewhere else, you can also see some exhibitions online.  Here are just a few cool discoveries I made while poking around...   

Right now, on the 3rd floor of the Mid-Mahattan Library (455 Fifth Avenue) there is an installation of collages by Josette Urso called “More Than You Know”.  The featured piece, For Better or Worse, but Never for Lunch - is described as a collection of “day-to-day materials ... that carry an inherent sense of possibility.”  You can see more of her colleges on her website, Go, Go and Snowtree are my personal favorites.  Urso will be speaking about her work on May 16th on the sixth floor of the library.



For those of us out in cyberspace there are many inspirational past exhibitions.  Your first stop must be to Recollections - experience the 2 minute ride of the powerful photographs set to  music (Soak It Up by ‘House’).  I was immediately transported from the mundane to the sublime.   The entire collection is subtitled, ‘30 Years of Photography at the New York Public Library’ and offers details and descriptions of photographs dating back to 1849 when the collection began.  



I am really looking forward to the upcoming exhibit, Celebrating 100 Years, announced on the website in a recent press release.  Thomas Mellins, an independent curator, is putting together artifacts that demonstrate “the depth and breadth of the Library’s remarkable collections, and will shine a spotlight on items spanning thousands of years and representing the worlds of literature, dance, social activism, invention, exploration, religion, history and innumerable other intellectual disciplines and creative pursuits.”  Does that sound good or what?


Apparently, the exhibit will feature materials from Shakespeare, Jack Kerouac, Charlotte Bronte, John James Audubon, Groucho Marx and Mao Zedong - quite a thought provoking group.  Library director, Paul LeClerc offers his thoughts on how they connect; “these men and women have made NYPL the holder of history, and the exhibition Celebrating 100 Years is a fitting tribute to their efforts. Each of the 250 items selected are not only individually compelling, but shown together, tell the story of the world around us, and how it has changed over time. NYPL is the only institution in the world that always makes these collections accessible to the public, so I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building than with an exhibition like this, shining a spotlight on what makes us so unique.”



An exhibit like this is certainly enough to keep even the most distracted of us learning, thinking and wondering for the next 100 years (at least).