Client: Indianapolis Public Library

Location: Indianapolis, IN, United States

Completion date: 2023

Artwork budget: $200,000

Project Team

Artist

Brian McCutcheon

Fabrication

Ignition Arts

Overview

Monument is a sculptural free lending library now permanently installed in downtown Indianapolis in front of Central Library. Originally created for a literacy + art project consisting of artist designed free book-borrowing stations placed throughout downtown Indianapolis, the sculpture was given a fresh look and installed in a permanent home due to its popularity and synergy with the mission and philosophies of our public libraries. A Mark Twain quote runs across the top of the sculpture reading: A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, is respected by wars and revolutions, and survives them.

Goals

"Monument" makes formal reference to civic monument archetypes, with the twist of being modernized by color, material, and separation from a building. The lending library supports an 1894 Mark Twain quote that was written during the same time period as the construction of the Indianapolis Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, the site for which the original sculpture was created. The quote suggests that books and libraries offer a more durable monument to society and culture than does the stone edifice.

Process

Monument was originally developed for The Public Collection, a public art and literacy project developed by Rachel M. Simon to improve literacy, foster a deeper appreciation of the arts, and raise awareness for education and social justice in our community. Through a curated process, Indiana-based artists were commissioned to design unique book share stations or lending libraries that are installed in public spaces around Indianapolis. The station is free and available to everyone. Passersby can borrow and return books at their leisure. Books are supplied and stocked by the Indianapolis Public Library. The Public Collection was developed with support from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and is managed in partnership with the Central Indiana Community Foundation and Mindy Taylor Ross of Art Strategies LLC.