It Must Be a Good Book, (sculpture).

It Must Be a Good Book, (sculpture).

Mendez, Gregory, sculptor.

It Must Be a Good Book, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: steel; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: 4 ft. 3 in. x 5 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft.; Base: 15 in. x 4 ft. 8 in. x 2 ft.

Metal figures of a young girl and boy atop an oversized concrete book. The girl is reading a book that has her attention to the point of acting it out. Up on her tip toes she swings her arms displaying her excitement about the story. It looks like she has forgotten about her beloved stuffed bunny she always keeps with her. The boy is seated facing the girl and listens attentively to the story. At certain angles the viewer can see through the figures, but from a distance the figures seem solid. A closer look will reveal that the figures are composed of hundreds of individual steel pieces --flat bars and round stocks that have been cut, bent, welded, and ground to refine a specific area. The figures are painted to retain their metallic qualities using silvers with hints of coppers and bronzes. The girl's dress is brightly colored pink, and the boy’s hat has a hint of blue.

Recreation -- Leisure -- Reading

Object -- Written Matter -- Book

Object -- Toy -- Animal

Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Decatur

Adams Public Library System, 128 South Third Street, Decatur, Indiana 46733

The sculpture was commissioned by the Adams Public Library System in memory of Dianne Linn, longtime library patron, former staff member, and friend of the Library. From early stages in design through installation this sculpture took just over three months to complete. The concrete base constructed in the form of a book was donated by the Hitchcock Concrete Company.

Adams Public Library, 2012.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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