Nashville has become a melting pot of cultures. Nowhere is this more celebrated than in the community served by the Nashville Public Library’s Southeast Branch.
The Sharing the Moon digital art installation expresses the cultural diversity of the Southeast Branch local community with words and images, drawing us closer together by acknowledging our collective history and wisdom.
Five quotes in five languages and children’s drawings were collected from Nashville Public Library patrons. Amharic, Spanish, English, Arabic, and Vietnamese translations flow side-by-side, encouraging the comparison of cultures through language and meaning.
The children’s drawings suggest the art of communication at its most basic level, evoking the origin of all language characters and letterforms. The background images of the moon signify a universal connection shared by all people, at all places on earth.
An assemblage of nine Planar Mosaic video tiles, interspersed among 43 backlit LED boxes controlled via DMX – arranged across a 37-foot wall space – provides a cutting-edge platform for expressing the Sharing the Moon concept. Artist Susan Hulme says this visual representation of text and artwork “provides a nexus of curiosity, discovery and inspiration.” Stephanie Rodriguez, the library’s branch manager says the installation “draws people into the library and further establishes it as a center of cultural and community activity.”
Rodriguez comments further saying that “Planar Mosaic, by its unique style, communicates that libraries are changing and evolving. Its unique tile shapes attract your attention and inspire you to come in and explore all we have to offer. And whether the viewer is American, Spanish, Arabic, Ethiopian or Vietnamese, he or she sees themselves reflected in the content, which enhances the sense of community here.”
Project
Digital Artwork
Client
Nashville Public Library via Anode, Inc.
What I Did
Conceptual, Technical Design, Software Development Management, Installation Supervision
Software Development Management
Installation Supervision