Kimmel Center Exhibit Designed To Trick The Eye
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - An art exhibit in the atrium of the Kimmel Center combines sculpture, music and... recycling.
At first glance, the array of busts of classical composers look like standard marble models. Then you notice on the back the spines of books.
Taiwanese artist Long-Bin Chen doweled and glued discarded books together, then carved them, as if they were wood. Curator Lee Stoetzel says it creates an uncanny effect:
"When he's selecting the books, which range from cultural books to art books to music books, he's looking for pages that are very, very white and then we he cuts through the pages of the books from margin to text, it gives the veining appearance of stone."
Stoetzel says Chen calls it "second nature." The busts are on loan from the West collection and have been placed on pedestals that play recordings of each composers music by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
They'll be on display through June 12th.