Artist Constructs Replica of Parthenon on Nazi Book Burning Site out of 100,000 Banned Books
Marta Minujin. Source: Ksta.de
Argentinian artist, Marta Minujin has completed a replica of the Greek Parthenon out of 100,000 copies of banned books. The full-scale construction of the Parthenon aims to spark conversation over censorship and stand as a symbol against political totalitarianism. All 100,00 copies of the books were acquired through public donations and attached to the steel frame structure using plastic sheeting. Each copy has been selected from a list of over 170 titles of banned books from around the world that Minujin compiled while working with students from Kassel University.
Photogallery: The Parthenon of Books. Source: Internet
The Parthenon of Books is located in Kassel, Germany as part of the Documenta 14 art festival, which has exhibitions in both Kassel and Athens this year. The exact location of the installation on Friedrichsplatz is significant since this is the same site where the Nazis burned around 2,000 books in 1933 as part of the “Aktion wider den undeutschen Geist” (Campaign against the Un-German Spirit) during their literary purge and censorship of authors.
Visitors are invited to walk through the monumental structure reading the titles of the books attached to the pillars while light filters through the transparent sections of the pillars’ plastic sheeting. The artist, Marta Minujin, says she selected the temple on the Acropolis in Greece as a model because it serves as a direct representation of the world’s first democracy and its aesthetic and political ideals. Following the conclusion of the exhibit on September 17, the books will be removed from the installation and returned to circulation.
The Parthenon of Books. Source: Deutschlandfunkkultur.de