It’s a powerful image: full access to the written word from a room covered in book pages. The installation, Pablo Lehmann’s “The Scribe’s House”, aptly complements a Saul Williams’ quote I read a few years ago- only through new words might new worlds be called into order.
I often write motivational pablum on paper and tape it to my walls. Presently, one of the papers reads “Be Aleeka.” and it serves as a daily reminder to relax. I like Lehmann’s idea of covering a room with the pages of discarded books, creating a flow of words that can’t be read or assembled into sentences. It’s as if he created a tactile language for the imaginary boarder. Imagine if instead of tombstones, mausoleums were just covered in all the books we’ve read? That would be a better reflection of me than any eulogy could afford.
The most fascinating thing about books is that your opinions on characters change as you age. Characters you once thought were evil, can surprising be deemed … lost. Like a milquetoast soldier approaching a battleground, I walked towards “The Scribe’s House” knowing that what I felt about books would change once I saw Pablo’s new world.
The “Scribe’s House” is available for free viewing at Anthropologie on 50 Rockefeller Plaza.
