JORGE MÉNDEZ BLAKE
Guadalajara, Mexico, 1974
Received the Fundación Botín Art Grant in 2010

Proyecto para Pabellón. Biblioteca abierta II, 2011
Methacrylate, iron base, mirror
Base: 82 × 92 × 91 cm; Model: 36 × 42 × 18.5 cm
Gift of the artists, 2012

The book is a central element in Jorge Méndez Blake’s artistic research. Beyond reflecting on its content, the artist also considers the book’s physicality and formal—perhaps even architectural—qualities. Moreover, since books require an organised space in which to be accessed, they share an intrinsic relationship with architecture. The public library and the museum are akin: both are spaces dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of a specific form of cultural production, often on a monumental scale.

This model for an open-air library proposes a lighter, perhaps more accessible, way of sharing printed matter. Rather than a closed building, the proposed structure consists solely of shelving. Placed in the middle of a public space, its aim is to offer immediate access to books, allowing passers-by to either borrow a volume or sit on a bench to enjoy a moment of reading. In this way, the sculptural object becomes interactive.