Library of Dust

by David Maisel, Geoff Manaugh (Contributor), Terry Toedtemeier (Contributor)

Esteemed photographer David Maisel has created a somber and beautiful series of images depicting canisters containing the cremated remains of the unclaimed dead from an Oregon psychiatric hospital. Dating back as far as the nineteenth century these canisters have undergone chemical reactions causing extravagant blooms of brilliant white green and blue corrosion revealing unexpected beauty in the most unlikely of places. This stately volume is both a quietly astonishing body of fine art from a preeminent contemporary photographer and an exceptionally poignant monument to the unknown deceased.

Genres: Art, Photography

108 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So one thing to note? This book is oversized, really oversized..so don't ride your bike to the library to pick it up and think it's going to fit in your backpack--it won't.

These are photos from the Portland State Mental Hospital in Oregon, and most of photos are of the cremated remains, unclaimed by family or friend, of patients--housed in copper canisters that over the years (in some cases, over a hundred years)have corroded in incredible ways.
"The irregularly sized copper canisters have a handmade quality: they are at turns burnished or dull: corrosion blooms wildly from the leaden seams of many of the cans. Numbers are stamped into each lid: the lowest number is 01, the highest 5,121."
There are just a handful of photos of the place itself, peeling paint, abandoned stretchers--those could have been another book all together-

[jj aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a very passionate searcher of art books on extremely interesting and obscure topics.
This book takes the cake for the last few years. David maisel has managed to find the most potent beauty and etherial presence rarely seen in a wholly humanly created object. The essay`s written throughout are done with the upmost sensitivity and intuitive perception of other dimensions. An incredible project!