It’s a monumental project against censorship.
A replica of the famed Greek temple is slowly taking form with donated books at a former Nazi-book burning site in Germany. Designed by Argentine artist Marta Minujín, “The Parthenon of Books” is a striking symbol in the fight for intellectual freedom.
According to Architectural Digest, Minujín is creating the structure using 100,000 copies of modern-day banned books, protected in plastic covering, that were secured to scaffolding mimicking the form of the temple.
It’s only fitting that this edifice is built in Friedrichsplatz Park, a site notorious as the location where Nazis burned thousands of banned books in 1933. Another historical connection, the original Parthenon was erected by the world’s first democracy in Athens.
Minujín worked with researchers to compile of list of titles currently banned around the world (available here). Minujín’s replica isn’t completely filled in, and she’s asking for more book donations until the project is completed.
The project is part of the Documenta 14 art festival in Kassel, which was established in 1955 to celebrate culture after the Nazis erased anything deemed un-German during their reign. The replica will remain on exhibition until September 17, 2017.
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