An exhibition "The Romance of the Rose" has opened in St. Petersburg, where contemporary artists rethink legends from the history of libraries

On March 25, in the building of the future library and cultural center "NOTA", the exhibition "Romance of the Rose" opened - a large art project dedicated to the history of libraries and their future. The exhibits of the exhibition are sound, architectural and interactive media installations, art objects made of glass, sand, wood and fabrics, created by contemporary artists in an attempt to comprehend the topic of libraries in a historical perspective and invite exhibition guests to reflection and dialogue. Among the artists who presented their work here are Pyotr Bely, Yanina Boldyreva, Vladimir Kopeikin, Anna Martynenko, Lev Manovich, Emilia Sangi, Anna Slobozhanina, Evgenia Tut and the Sever 7 art group.

The opening ceremony was attended by Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky, Chairman of the Committee on Culture Fyodor Boltin, head of the Krasnogvardeisky District Administration Evgeny Razumishkin, artists, heads of libraries.

“What I see is absolutely amazing. The NOTA BCC team not only integrated the exhibition of contemporary art into the library space, but also chose amazing art objects of completely non-regional significance,” commented Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky.

Three sections of the exhibition are devoted to different aspects of the past and future of libraries. The first presents the work of contemporary artists with historical counterpoint. The section "In space and time" is devoted to how the library has changed over time. In the third part, the guests of the exhibition see how the image of the reader has been transformed in different historical eras.

The first exposition is about libraries in history. How does the echo of the libraries of antiquity reach us? This question is studied by the sound art of Anna Martynenko and the architectural installation of the Sever 7 group. How to keep calm against the backdrop of the beating rhythm of modernity - this is the glass and sand of Vladimir Kopeikin and the lamp of Emilia Sanga. Graphics by Yanina Boldyreva and fabrics by Evgenia Tut explore the theme of death and rebirth from the ashes. Media theorist Lev Manovich suggested that the neural network fantasize about uncreated libraries. Anna Slobozhanina created an object dedicated to the boundaries and infinity of human thought. Presented are two works by Peter Bely, who reflects on eternity and dialogue with bygone civilizations through building materials - concrete, brick and nails. A 17-meter rack, free of books, has become a zone of history. Each shelf tells its own story:

The second part of the exhibition "In Space and Time" is about the relationship between the reader and the library at the crossroads of time. Guests of the exhibition are immersed in the lamp atmosphere of the libraries of the 1980s - 1990s, studying the artifacts of past years. Many libraries of St. Petersburg shared them with the BCC "NOTA". And then visitors enter the 21st century, where they can feel the freedom and comfort of a modern library center. And then - to dream about what will happen to libraries in the next century.

The section on the history of the reader tells about how new the phenomenon of reading is for mankind, how a book can be read in different ways, how the process of reading has changed over the centuries, and what historical figures set the trend for readers. Young St. Petersburg designers reimagined the innovators of reading through clothing that reflected the images of the respective eras.

The second copy of the unique wooden book from the exhibition "Romance of the Rose" can also be seen in the Masters Bookstore. This is the work of the architect Nestor Engelke, one of the leaders of the sensational association "North-7".

The Romance of the Rose project is being implemented by the winner of the Creative Museum competition of the Museum Without Borders charity program of the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation.