An installation by
Gwendolyn Holbrow
Artist’s Statement

A mirror is at the intersection of two worlds, the one we live in and can touch and taste
and smell, and another we can only see. A mirror can be a window into that other world,
and into the intangible space of thoughts and dreams, feelings and ideas; the world in
which art and music and literature and mathematics and scientific discovery are
conceived. By looking into that other world, that is by reflection, we learn more about
ourselves. Perhaps we can even draw insubstantial notions into our material world and
make them solid and real.

And what about sound? In which world is that? Like the light, it bounces and echoes
back and forth in this installation, allowing you to hear as well as see yourself in new
ways.

The objects and images in this installation have accreted around me for many years,
begging me to put them together and let them speak to each other and to you. When I
received the privilege of filling this wonderful space with anything I chose, I realized the
time had come. I have tried to give substance to my experience of connection with the
immaterial world, and I hope you, the visitor, will feel it too.

I invite you to sit down at the desks and open them, read the silver book and write in the
composition book, speak or sing or whistle or strike the chimes at the organ, relax on
the benches and enjoy the glowing reds and blues, and look down infinite tunnels of
yourself. Are they inside you, or outside, or somewhere else altogether?

The Book of Reflection contains conflict and harmony, suspense, recapitulation and resolution. Halves have holes, and halves are made whole. Like all books, the Book of Reflection says something different to every reader, and every page is a reflection of what the reader brings to it.

Update 15 years later: I loved this installation and so did many of the visitors, but the experience still contributed to my dropping out of the professional art world.

It was a pretty wonderful thing, if I do say so myself! Creating and installing it was a huge job. Thank you for the help, family, and Gesa and Hilamar Lehnert, especially carrying the solid oak church organ console up the stairs when it wouldn’t fit in the elevator.

And then the Danforth wouldn’t promote it because it was in the school gallery, didn’t even mention it in any of their newsletters and PR, and they didn’t want me to promote it myself either! And so I couldn’t list it in news and event sites and the art critics passed over it. It was frustrating and sad. But recently I was chatting with a stranger, and when she heard my name, she said, “You’re the one who did that wonderful mirror installation at the Danforth!” I’m happy that it lives on in other memories than just mine!

Another disappointment: sound reflections were an important part of the experience, and the echoing sound, set up with the help of of my audio geek son Charles and a guitar pedal, was pretty amazing, but the unshielded cables also picked up and broadcast the Brazilian radio station a few blocks away, instead of just echoing back the sounds in the room. Someone who thought it was a deliberate choice to broadcast music with a Latin beat criticized it in the guestbook. Little did they know how strongly I already agreed!