Initially, I thought it was a library filled with art related books. The library should be very quiet and people are here to look for some reference and working for their paper. Everyone was tense and concentrated under that atmosphere. And for the environment, the bookshelves should be old, and there are hundreds of bookshelves arranging in order. To be honest, I thought this trip would be very boring because I really did not enjoy studying at a library.
But after visiting the museum, my initial thought was totally changed.To my surprise, it is not a traditional library that gives me a sense of majesty. Instead, it makes me feel extremely cosy. It was not a big library, but the fitment and lighting were both fine and comfortable. And the book in the library are not the same as what I imagined. They were not general book, I never thought that sketchbooks can be put into a library. And this library is entirely consist of sketchbook. Besides, the atmosphere is so relaxing that triggers our inspiration and imagination. We are not banned to communicate with others in this unique library and it helps us to get to know about other people’s thought.
After spending time looking at the sketchbooks, I found that sketchbook is not basically “sketches”, they are the essence of artistic thoughts. Although the form could be various, I never saw anyone who just put some unconsidered and unprocessed sketch on their sketch. And the materials the artists applied are completely out of my expectations. Fabrics, threads, board paper, wrapping paper, coins, and even feathers are attached to these sketchbooks. Furthermore , these objects are not attached in random ways. They have been delicately arranged and when looking at these sketchbooks, I felt that I was reading a fluent story.
I thought the most precious thing I learned from these library is “attitude”. I never paid much attention on sketchbooks and I only spent little time on sketchbooks since sketchbook was just “sketch” for me. I did not have the habit to arrange them in order, find different materials to express different meanings, and try to make great visual effects for them. After visiting the library, I started to realize the importance of keeping a detailed, logically reasonable, and good-looking sketchbook. A sketchbook is the demonstration of our logic flow and our inspiration to both readers and ourselves. And I should take it more seriously than before in order to make some improvements.
The handout was helpful to me because it raised many questions that might be important later while I am working on my own project. It also help me record my immediate thought as I was looking at these sketchbooks. I think recording these thoughts is very beneficial and necessary because it is totally different sense when looking at the real subject and look at the photos. What’s more, it helped me to made connections between different sketchbooks, knowing how they simulate and differentiate with each other.
I wish that I could have more time during the visit. I want to see more wonderful thoughts from artists all around the world. And I saw many sketchbooks with interesting covers and made of different materials on the bookshelves. I was curious about what’s inside them. I will probably spend more time on reading those sketchbooks. And I wish I could have more time sharing opinions and ideas with my classmates.
