A new, interactive kiosk in the lobby of the Princeton Public Library will allow the public to get and add information about “Happy World,” the mixed-media wall installation created by artist Ik-Joong Kang when the library opened its new building seven years ago.
An iPad mounted on a stand in front of the wall provides information about nearly 1,500 of the 4,000 tiles, which include a mix of Kang’s artwork and artifacts contributed by Princeton community.
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A gift from Stephen Distler and his wife, Roxanne Kendall, made the installation possible when the new building opened on April 24, 2004. A second donation from the couple has allowed the addition of the interactive program.
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“This generous gift has enabled us to create a new program which allows members of the community to find the stories behind the tiles,” said Leslie Burger, the library’s executive director. “They can also add information about existing tiles, and we encourage people to do so. We currently have information about a few hundred of the tiles, but we need more from the community so we can tell the story of the wall.”
On any given day, visitors to the library can be seen peering at the patchwork of tiles that make up “Happy World.” The 3-by-3 inch tiles incorporate images ranging from Kang’s paintings and woodcuts to a series of drawings by children in the Princeton Regional Schools depicting the word “library” in 55 languages.
The wall contains extraordinary and historically significant artifacts, such as a deck of playing cards owned by Albert Einstein, pieces of the Berlin Wall and a 1909 Free Public Library notice, along with everyday items such as a sports equipment, a parking meter and family photos.
Kang was born in South Korea and is a graduate of the Pratt Institute. He has exhibited at such venues as the Whitney Museum of American Art and the 1997 Venice Biennale, where he won the Special Merit Prize.
Software developers Tom Florek and Debbie Pisacreta created the kiosk in collaboration with PPL Technology Initiatives Librarian Romina Gutierrez.
The library is in the Sands Library Building at 65 Witherspoon St. in Princeton Borough. For more information about library programs and services, call (609) 924-9529 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (609) 924-9529 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit www.princetonlibrary.org
