every reader does with the book what s::he wants to :: 2025
Down in the weeds, where the world once was* ::
A few years ago i did a work about dead wood (see: treeworks). I had never been into trees, but I work the intuitive way, so i followed my instinct into the wild. In nature everything goes in cycles, there is no „end“ as we think there is. Deadwood is good for new trees they say, nothing to fear. I met lots of people who lived closer with these cycles, a different way of living. After finalizing this project i forgot about it.
Last fall I suddenly got attracted by a nearby bookshelf, a place i had passed by for years without even noticing. I went there almost every day, skipping through books from 19th century to the 2020s. I did research work and googled lots of biographies, i needed a context and a background. I know about the difficult life of scott fitzgerald (who i found was the most interesting among these „lost generation“ americans in europe, 100 years ago), and I know that 2020s writers try to put something positive into the world, because they feel that´s „needed“. Often I took some books home and brought them back the very next day. It has become almost impossible for me to read most of the 20th century „classics“, lots of self-pitying men in male worlds (seen from a today´s perspective). Lucky me i had skipped them all at high-school, nevertheless it´s an interesting historical study. I liked the kamasutra which was definitely worth re-reading, because it is just too funny (but true too), and lots of books of the hippie time. There are more books and more cultures than we can think of. Often books had some text or name written into them, dating from the 1950s until now. I found that even more interesting - real people were reading exactly this book long ago, this book mattered to them so they kept it for decades until it finally landed here. A bookshelf is much more than a shelf with books. It´s a shelf with books that have a history. That is wild! Endless stories can be found there, but it´s an old world. A world that has had its glory, its freedom, its pleasure. You can go there and loose yourself in old times (but not all past is outworn, think of the old greeks who were definitely progressive) and you´ll always meet funny people there (digging in the past too, but sometimes also re-defining what a book actually is). So much thought, so many lives, so much struggle, so much glory. Why go to the cinema ?
After exactly 9 months my project ended the way it had started - over night. I kept about 10 books from that journey. I had also picked books for friends who read them and then put them into open bookshelves where they live. I like the spreading-aspect! Sometimes I took pictures of the books before I brought them back, or i arrange and re-arrange them for some stills. A book can be a lot of things. To me, old books are like fallen trees. Yes, i know, they are good for new growth.
books here: a 21st century book with dedication text; the beach from the 90s; famous book from 70s by ken kesey (he was influential for the whole hippie movement in the usa !) with a (female) name written into it in „dec 1977“ :: books with a history :: 2025 ::
* album by the bright eyes, 2020