Book-themed sculptures and art installations are popping up all over the world!
Artists celebrate the importance of the printed word, expressing a love for learning, and encouraging others to use their imagination, through many different media. Marble, granite, bronze, and iron are chipped away at, rubbed down, and polished to create a stunning piece of art fit for the most enthused reading addict!
1. Book Benches
Benches shaped like open books have been popping up around London and Manchester. Let’s hope they have started a craze that will spread all over the world!
2. “Out To Lunch”
This life-size bronze sculpture of a young man, sitting eating a sandwich & reading a book, is titled ‘Out To Lunch’ and is located at the Harbour Town Marina on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA.
3. “Walk of Ideas” tower of books sculpture
This tower of books was one of six sculptures named The Walk of Ideas, commissioned in Berlin, Germany in the early 2000s to mark the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Scholz & Friends designed the book tower to commemorate the invention of modern book printing.
4. 12ft Mr Darcy
The iconic image of a soaked Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Pride & Prejudice, loomed out of Lyme Park lake until 2014. The 12ft fibreglass statue did a UK tour before being retired.
5. “Learning Curve”
Sculptor Gary Lee Price says on his website: “The curve is powerful, pleasing and fundamental because if you continue it, a circle is formed. Circles or mandalas have always been great symbols for unity, energy and creation. I also like the arch design of this piece as it reminds us of a bridge, and bridges bring us together!”
6. The Tree of Knowledge
The Tree of Knowledge stands tall and elegant in bronze, growing out from the best object known to man- the book!
7. Book Man Sculpture
Artist Terry Allen is best known for his installation and performance projects. He is a multidisciplinary artist in the most pure sense as he excels in every aspect of art, from performance and music to painting and sculpture.
8. Reading Magic
Reading Magic is by sculptor Julie Jones. It celebrates a child’s imagination and how the worlds and creatures they read about come alive- with a surprise appearance by her beloved pet dog!
9. Homenatge al Llibre (Tribute to the Book)
Homenatge al Llibre (Tribute to Books) is by Joan Brossa and stood at Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, Spain.
10. Book Fountain
The Amelia Valerio Weinberg Memorial Fountain can be found on the Vine Street Plaza, in Barcelona, Spain. The “book fountain” features water cascading over a stack of ceramic tile books, and according to sculptor Michael Frasca, it represents the uninhibited flow of information, thoughts, and ideas through printed word.
11. Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear was immortalised in 2000 in the form of this bronze statue by Marcus Cornish. The sweet depiction of Michael Bond’s marmalade loving bear lives in Paddington Station (of course).
12. Mad Hatter and March Hare
Robert James creates these stunning characters for the general public- no need to commission one for the local park! If you have £70,000 to spare you can have one of only SIX of these amazing sculptures in your own garden.
13. William Shakespeare
There are many monuments and sculptures dedicated to Mr William Shakespeare and perhaps the most famous is one millions of people pass each day. Stood proudly at the centre of Leicester Square, Will has been removed for a refurb but won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
14. Dr Seuss
The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden was opened in 2002. Surrounded by art and science museums and galleries, Seuss’s garden is a fun, exciting, but surprisingly peaceful, place to visit Lark captured his and his character’s spirits perfectly in bronze.
Take a tour around the Dr Seuss sculpture gardens here!
15. The Little Prince and Bésixdouze
This sculpture is held in the Museum of The Little Prince in Hakone is in Sengokuhara, Japan. The museum is dedicated to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s character in The Little Prince.