University of Pennsylvania, Institute of Contemporary Art, 1985, "Siah Armajani."
"Siah Armajani," University of Pennsylvania, Institute of Contemporary Art, 1985, pg.66.
(Extending from two corners:)The axe leaps!/The solid forest gives fluid utterances,/They tumble forth, they rise and form,/ Hut, tent, landing, survey, flail, plough, pick, crowbar, spade, /Shingle, rail, prop, wainscot, jamb,lath,pane, gable,/Citadel, ceiling, saloon, academy, organ, exhibition-house, library,/Cornice, trellis, pilaster, balcony, window, turret, porch,/Hoe, rake, pitchfork, pencil, wagon, staff, saw, jack-plane, mallet,/wedge, rounce,/Chair, tub, hoop, table , wicket, vane, sash, floor,/Work-box, chest, string'd instrument, boat, frame, and what not./Unscrew the lock from the doors!/Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!/The big doors of the country-barn stand open and ready,/The dried grass of the harvest-time loads the slow-drawn wagon,/The clear light plays on the brown gray and green intertinged,/The armfuls are packed to the sagging mow./Within their walls shall all that forwards perfect human life be started, tried, taught, advanced, visible exhibited./This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,/This is the common air that bathes the globe..../It is for the endless races of working people and farmers and seamen./Walt Whitman/Leaves of Grass
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.
Summary:
"There are bookshelves, library steps, and several clusters of benches and reading tables. Two Whitman texts are each displayed in two sections extending from a corner like the pages of a book."
