THE AMERICAN LIBRARY 2018

Yinka Shonibare made "The American Library," and looking at it, the patterned textiles leap out, like a party in book form. All those wild colors make me think about how artmaking is like dancing with your materials, responding to the rhythm of the medium. The books themselves are covered in Dutch wax fabric, which Shonibare uses a lot. It's a loaded material, this fabric. It looks African, but it's actually Indonesian-inspired, mass-produced by the Dutch, and then sold in West Africa. Each one is unique, the bright colours of the fabric contrasting beautifully with the neutral tone of the shelves, each spine embossed with the name of a first or second-generation American with ties to immigration. Think about all the stories, all the journeys, all the voices packed into this one piece. Like Fred Wilson’s “Mining the Museum,” Shonibare shows us that history is not just a set of facts, but a living, breathing conversation. It reminds me that art doesn’t give us answers, it invites us to ask better questions.