The first thing that hits you as you enter Truck Contemporary Art in Calgary is the smell. Smoky, charred air pierces the nose, reminiscent of a campfire or, more ominously, a smouldering house fire. There is an edge to the smell.
The second thing to hit you is the fact that they’ve burnt books. Those bastards burnt books. Lots of them.
It’s strange, the emotions raised from the sight of charred remains of piles of books. It is a political statement, a religious statement, a celebration of ignorance and an affront to word nerds. I am shocked.
I bend over to read the few visible titles. Cheap paperbacks of poorly written bestsellers litter the floor. Relief. But then; is that Nathaniel Hawthorne?
The books aren’t just burnt, they sit in as guano for the large winged creatures hovering above. A scatological smattering of lost words.
Of course shock is the kind of reaction that artist Tammy McGrath wants. She is a book geek and, like me, has unfailingly trudged her collection of books from one apartment to the next. Heavy boxes of literary treasures. She wants questions to rise quickly, rather than slowly percolate.
So what does it all mean? Are the creatures winged representatives of ignorance, guarding their destruction from curious minds? Is this a challenge to rise above those who would destroy millennia of human learning (or mindless entertainment)?
Of course, these questions are left unanswered. But even without raising them, this exhibition is an esthetic pleasure. The charred piles of word guano form richly textured sculptures and the strange, feathered beasts visually entice, with leather wings and sharp claws.
If anything, it’s a creative way to decrease the burden of moving for the artist and her friends who donated the books.
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