Barbara Cooper
American, 1941-
2015
Wood and perforated stainless steel
About the piece
Circuit was created for a library that places itself at the cultural center of the town. The idea for the sculpture developed from the relationship of the library to the train station and the importance of the underground railway in the history and identity of the town. Both infer expansive movement outward.
Similarly, a trip to the library enables a mental journey into a larger context by supporting a progression from the comforts of a community to the comprehensiveness of the world.
The materials of wood and metal from which “Circuit” is made, contrast the wooded nature of the town and the layered papers of books with both the electronics of technology that extend the library’s resources and the industrial nature of the railroad that connects the town to a larger context.