Passion or Politics 2005
Visitors step into a circular Rare Book Room containing a life-sized panoramic photograph of a library interior lit with intense black light.
Description
In a third floor gallery of the Mattress Factory, visitors step into a circular Rare Book Room containing a life-sized panoramic photograph of a library interior lit with intense black light. Suspense novels and political non-fiction line the shelves on the left side of the room, while the bookshelves on the right side stand starkly empty. Library reading tables invite viewers to investigate the limited editions, such as a reconstructed Bible containing ink visible only under black light and a book in Braille. In a reconstructed library lobby, Marsico displays previous limited edition books and some political posters also visible only under black light.
Dennis Marsicois a photographer and a writer. He received his degree in electrical engineering and worked in the field for several years until the decline of the Pittsburgh steel mills. He left engineering in 1978 to enroll in a graduate architectural program, leaving after one year to pursue a life in art. His career took off as a photographer in 1980 and he has since exhibited in places such as the Dryphoto Gallery, Prato, Italy; the Graham Foundation, Chicago, IL; and The Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, DC. After focusing on travel photography, Marsico’s artwork now focuses on sensitive age-related issues.
He has published rare books in the rare book collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Smithsonian artist book collection, Library of the Art Institute of Chicago, and many more.