Most of the time, a sudden rash of rain can be a death sentence for an event in this town; Miamians ain't about the soggy life. But lo and behold, this past Second Saturday proved to be an exception to that particular Miami rule, with a surprisingly activated turn out wandering -- and desperately trying to keep from getting entirely too waterlogged -- in the streets of Wynwood.
And just a few short blocks away, at Spinello Projects, a cozy exhibition opened to a sizable number of moistened, umbrella-clad viewers.
See also: Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares: Booking It at Spinello Projects
Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares' installment entitled "State of the Book," showing the wonderful feeling of sitting in a room or a library and being surrounded by books, which also would also serve to highlight how libraries and even books themselves are going out of style in today's world.
Wright and Millares built a reading room, painted in earthy tones and softly lit to achieve the feeling of an old New England home's library, with all its coziness and the sense of literary intimacy one feels when standing in a small room with dozens of books on every wall. Wright explained that the concept stems from the widespread disappearance of libraries and bookstores across the country and how books have become less and less beloved. She also noted that "Up north, we go inside, into the libraries in the winter, when it's really too cold to do anything outside. Here in Miami, it gets like that in the summer, only it's too hot, so we thought we'd create a cool, interactive reading space where people can come out of the heat and enjoy that same experience."
Wright and Millares constructed the room together and have filled it with all sorts of books, coming from different collections and individuals with disparate interests and areas of study. The sections of the shelves range from paperback fiction to fine photography to ornithology and and bird watching books. The pair of artists discussed the work with some of the guests, while others in attendance hovered around the pair of leather chairs in the middle of the room on either side of the wine and paper cups. There is a comfortable air to the room, very much akin to that of a book room in an 18th Century house in Southern Massachusetts. According to the artists, there will be a performance taking place and being filmed in the room come September, when the exhibition will come to its eventual close.
For more information on Spinello Projects, visit spinelloprojects.com.
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