Martha Rosler Library

I was excited to see a book published on Martha Rosler Library. I'm just not sure that I know more about the project than I did before reading it.

First exhibited in New York, at e-flux's storefront space in late 2005, Martha Rosler Library has continued to travel ever since -- seemingly on its own momentum -- showing up in a half dozen places in Europe so far. In brief, the project is approximately 7,800 of artist Martha Rosler's books, shelved and made available to the public. While each installation is slightly different, they tend to also include programs of public events and discussions.

I've been interested in the project since first hearing about it, but not having had the opportunity to personally visit the library at any of its venues, I've had to content myself with the odd article here and there. So, it was to my great interest that the hosts of its most recent stops in Liverpool and Endinburgh published a small book about the project: Martha Rosler Library, Paul Domela and John Byrne eds. (2008, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art Ltd, $14.95, 9780953676170).

Aside from introductions from the hosting venues, this small, thoughtfully-produced volume includes an interview with Rosler and art writer and curator, Stephen Wright; a second with Wright and Anton Vidokle, the co-founder of e-flux and co-initiator of Martha Rosler Library; and an essay by Elena Filipovic, originally published in Afterall magazine last year. You would think that amongst this collection of writers and artists, one would get a clear sense of the project, and yet there's a peculiar ambiguity surrounding what's being said about the project and about how it really seems to operate.

In her interview, Rosler states that the library is a space free from her own authority, open for the public to make their own meaning from. And yet, after the first couple installations (where the organizations was based loosely on how it was found in her home) she imposed an stricter, numbered ordering system on the books. And as far as one can ascertain in the text, she also has a very particularly strong hand in their installation in each location.

Also, despite being comprised of her books, in her organization, and under her name, the artist further insists the library is not a portrait of her. Yet, Elena Filipovic brackets her entire essay on the scraps of toilet paper found marking the pages of many of the books. She dwells (awkwardly) on the very person-ness this implies.

Lastly, in the interview with Anton Vidokle (fascinating enough for his discussion of his e-flux project) one gets the distinct sense that his conception of the project and Rosler's conception of the project have veered significantly and perhaps uncomfortably away from one another over the last couple years.

These are interesting problems. Do the contradictions imply a failure on the part of the piece, or on the part of its interpreters? Given the continually extended tour the library has been on, and the interest it seems to generate in each stop, the piece is at least popular. But is this popularity a result of a misunderstanding of the project on the part of the venues and audiences, or is the project something none of the players here can quite grasp? Is Martha Rosler Library somehow above being described in words?