Eye Magazine Article

Eye Candy

David Balzer
Eye Magazine, January 4, 2007.

On Saturday, Jan. 6, conceptual artist Robin Pacific carries out what might be described as Walter Benjamin’s worst nightmare: she is giving away her entire archive of 1,670 books, which took her 30 years to collect. That’s right: hundreds of books are free for the taking—books that have been culled by a sharp, creative mind and that have probably been exceedingly cared for and mulled over. To anyone prone to hoarding, the gesture is tantalizing (free books!), cringe-inducing and poignant: because as every collector knows, a collection is not just a gathering of things, but an extension of the self, a part of one’ soul. To underscore her sacrifice, Pacific has included a bookplate in each book that reads “This book is a gift to you from Robin Pacific”; additionally, those who take something are required to sign a sheet and put it in place of the book. Participants are also encouraged to contribute to the event by picking up one of the disposable cameras on hand and shooting Pacific’s incredible shrinking trove. And so the books aren’t really free at all; takers leave with the responsibility of history; they’ll never feel as if the book is completely their own. For Pacific herself, the event becomes an artistic act: she is putting objects into the world that have been indelibly marked as her own. Part of her soul—despite its seemingly horrific material dispersal—will be in the good hands of approximately 1,670 strangers.