Sexy Librarian: Critical Edition of the Original Novel, 2008
Artist Novel, 15.1 x 22.7 cm. 171 p, language: English, publisher: Ellen Lupton/Slush Editions, ISBN: 978-0615176772.
©image: M HKA
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. B 2024/825).
Literary synopsis
Sexy Librarian introduces us to Audrey Reed, a New York artist who trades her hip urban life for a job at a small public library in Minnesota. Away from the frenetic art world, Audrey hopes to find herself, and with the help of some hard words and hot nights, she succeeds. With wry and unflinching candor, Audrey explores the Midwest, her past and, inconveniently, her boss's ex-husband. In a town of closed minds and open stacks, Audrey learns that there is more to a library than its holdings, and that she may still have the ability to fall in love.
Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice
Sexy Librarian began as an unsolicited manuscript written to collect rejection letters from publishing houses for an exhibition of sculpturally modified discarded library material. The larger project, entitled The Public Library of American Public Library Deaccession, was an exploration of books that libraries withdraw from their collections and the emotional implications of literary detritus. Sexy Librarian was released as a full-length novel in 2008 and in the years that followed it became the centerpiece of an art practice that was concerned with irrelevant intellectual material and unpopular love stories, and a life practice that involved attaining a Masters in Library and Information Science. In 2011 the Sexy Librarian project came to a close when two key goals were reached. "I became a librarian at New York’s oldest library and began, as part of my professional duties, to discard books. Soon after, New York Public Library deaccessioned one of three copies of Sexy Librarian from their collection. To mark the end of the piece, I exhibited a work that served as a sculptural timeline: Discarded Library Books I Collected (2006); Library Books I Wrote; Library Books I Discarded; Discarded Library Book I Wrote; Discarded Library Books I Collected (2011) plus diplomas."
- Julia Weist
Authorship: Artist Author.
Creative Strategy: Artwork-Novel Parallel Lives, Artworks Biographical Origin.
Genre: Romance.
Publishing: Independent Publishing.
Theme: Librarianship, Library Science.
Media
>Cover 'Sexy Librarian', 2008
>'Untitled' (All the library-owned copies of Sexy Librarian I was able to borrow), Library books written by the artist, handmade wood from paper (shelf), 2009 Courtesy of (from left to right): MoMA Library, Rochester Public Library, Pratt Institute Library, New York Public Library, Lafayette College Library (Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library through Interlibrary Loan), Cooper Union Library, Brooklyn Museum Library
>'With, Drawn' [installation view], Collection of discarded public library books from 25 states, 2007
>'Discarded library books I collected' (2006); Library books I wrote; Library books I discarded; Discarded library book I wrote; Discarded library books I collected (2011) plus diplomas Steel, wood, vinyl-coated wire, acrylic, discard U.S. public library books from a collection including 25 states, copies of a romance novel, Sexy Librarian, written by the artist and borrowed from public libraries, books discarded by the artist from the collection of the New York Society Library, discarded copy of Sexy Librarian from the collection of New York Public Library, discarded U.S. public library books from a collection including 5 U.S. states, the artist’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of Library and Information Science diplomas, 2006-2011
>'Sexy Librarian, rejection letters', Letterhead, mylar, 2007 Courtesy of (clockwise): Moonlit Romance and Moonlit Madness, Tor Books, Avon Romance, Dorchester Publishing, Harlequin NEXT
>'Lumber' [detail], discarded public library paperback romance novels sanded to dust, 2008
Artist
> Julia Weist.
Exhibitions & Ensembles
> Exhibition: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ARTWORK BECOMES A NOVEL?. M HKA, Antwerp, 07 December 2012 - 21 April 2013.
> Exhibition: THE BOOK LOVERS - A Project about Artist Novels. The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, 25 January 2013 - 09 March 2013.
> Exhibition: Book Lovers 4.0 (Pop-up Bookstore). De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam, 28 January 2014 - 02 February 2014.
> Exhibition: The Preparation of the Novel (Book Lovers 5.0). Fabra i Coats - Centre d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, 18 July 2014 - 05 September 2014.
> Ensemble: The Artist's Novel.