Live Culture with Martha Willette Lewis episode 40: Lost Again

Sat, 30 Jun 2018 11:00:00 GMT

During the summer I like to travel and this year is no exception. Being away from the station offers the chance to look back at past Live Culture episodes and to chose one for re-airing. This one seemed a natural fit: it is full of history, adventures, and stories of making art on the road, making it a great choice for summer listening. Lost Again is a re-broadcast of a show from January 2018 with British artist Abigail Reynolds about her BWW Art Journey- a prize that took her along the Silk Road on a motorcycle hauling a Bolex camera to document the sites of lost libraries. Her epic journey has resulted in a book, a film and an art exhibition. Abigail was live in the WPKN studios with me, during her recent US visit to libraries in New York, and was gracious enough to journey the extra miles to Bridgeport!

Her book, now published by Hatje Cantz, and the film: Lost Libraries are a part of the current exhibition Wish You Were Here: Journals, Journies and Expeditions, a group show up at the Gallery Upstairs at the Institute Library in New Haven until August 31st. more information on that is at Institutelibrary.org.

On her remarkable trip Abigail visited the following library sites:

Stone Steles, Xian, China- found about 1080
Xianyang Palace, Xian - lost 206BC
Baisigou Pagoda, Yinchuan, China - lost 1970
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China- lost 11th century, found 1900
Palace Library, Khanate of Kokand, Uzbekistan - lost 1876
Nishapur,Iran - lost 1154
Hidden Libraries of Tehran - hidden 1979
Roman libraries of Turkey: Celsus in Ephesus (lost 262AD) Pergamon (lost 41BC), Nysa (lost 1402AD)
Library of the Serapeum in Alexandria, Egypt - lost 392AD
Cairo Genizeh, Egypt - found 1900
Institute of Egypt, Cairo - lost 2011
Bibliotheca Ulpia, Rome, Italy - lost around 600AD
Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, Italy - lost 79AD, discovered 1752

More on Abigail.
More on the book Lost Libraries
More on the BMW Art Journey

Come arm-chair travel with us as we discuss her project.
Live Culture will air live next month on July 28 with an all-new show....

Thanks for Listening!

Live Culture with Martha Willette Lewis Episode 35: Lost Libraries

Sat, 27 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

This month Live Culture offers an in studio conversation with British Artist Abigail Reynolds who is currently in the USA to launch her new publication Lost Libraries published by Hatje Cantz. Abigail, who Live Culture listeners will remember from Episode 18: The Mother's Bones, about her film project in a Cornwall Quarry, recently won the prestigious BMW Art Journey, a prize which sent her on a trip through China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Italy, and Egypt following the Silk Road in search of destroyed libraries. She traveled for five months, visiting libraries that were lost due to political conflict or natural disasters. This book presents the photographs and recollections of her experiences.

About the BMW Art Journey:
Two artists are awarded the prize each year: one from Art Basel in Hong Kong and one Art Basel in Miami Beach. An independent panel of judges shortlists three artists from each fair, who are then tasked with crafting an itinerary for their proposed journey. Reynolds was unanimously selected from the 2016 Hong Kong shortlist, for a project she titled “The Ruins of Time: Lost Libraries of the Silk Road.”

Reynolds is best known for her collages, which splice together archival images in geometric, three-dimensional patterns. She is particularly interested in the passage of time, scouring old bookstores and flea markets for encyclopedias or guidebooks that offer decades-old views of a given landscape. She also incorporates images of what she terms “communal structures”—protest marches, highways, colleges.

On her New York visit Abigail will be participating in A Night of Philosophy & Ideas at the Brooklyn Public Library on Saturday January 27th. This is part of a 12-hour marathon, of 20 minute lectures happening from 7pm to 7am. The event is open to the public, more information is here.

As an accompaniment to our discussion this month's show features a selection of book and library themed music from James Horner ( for the film The Name of the Rose), Brian Anderson, Yellow Ostrich and My Morning Jacket. join us to find out more about this incredible adventure, the book, and the artworks that have resulted from the journey!

WPKN Archives Archive Feed: lostlibraries

Live Culture with Martha Willette Lewis episode 40: Lost Again

Live Culture with Martha Willette Lewis Episode 35: Lost Libraries