Reference Point

light, aluminum, wood, ink on paper

Dunning Library, Chicago, IL

installed June 2015


Commissioned by the City of Chicago Public Art Program for the Dunning Branch of the Chicago Public Library.


This installation occupies much of the library, consisting of eight sculptural elements arranged around the main room and a drawing, called the “key”. Each of the eight cities represented by the sculptures shares demographic characteristics with the Dunning neighborhood. The “key” provides that information, much the way a map key would. The aluminum and wood structures function as abstract maps for each city. Each structure has a second consistent marker for the location of Chicago, which acts as a reference point for the viewer. This site-specific installation looks at location on multiple levels. The piece engages one with the library, both spatially and intellectually. A deeper reading of the content of the piece causes one to contemplate their own geographic place in the country.