New art installation at Chapel Hill Public Library first technological art in town

There is one place in Chapel Hill where it’s possible to see Mama Dip in her kitchen, Franklin Street in the 1930s, a student skateboarding off a frat house and a UNC basketball game in under five minutes — the Chapel Hill Public Library. 

Friday night, the Chapel Hill Public Library will host a public celebration to unveil its new artwork, "UNBOUND."

Jeffrey York, the public and cultural arts administrator for the Town of Chapel Hill, said "UNBOUND" is the first piece with technology in Chapel Hill and has been in the works since artist Erik Carlson was commissioned in 2014. Carlson was chosen from more than 200 applicants. The installation is part of the town's Percent for Art Program established in 2002, which allocates one percent of selected capital project expenditures for art. 

Susan Brown, director of the Chapel Hill Public Library, said the addition is different from anything in the library's current collection. 

“'UNBOUND' is four really beautiful black panels that contain still images and videos about the community of Chapel Hill," she said. "It’s an interactive and communicative piece.” 

The exhibit uses 7,000 still images and 2,500 videos, which were either submitted by Chapel Hill residents online, in person or taken by the artist.

Carlson is from Providence, RI, but he came to visit Chapel Hill to get a sense of the town for which he was going to be doing the artwork. 

“It’s very important to the design of the pieces I create to get to know the community the work will be placed in," he said. "I spent a lot of time in Chapel Hill learning about the residents and the places that are important to them. All the content comes from the community. The community has been so significant in creating this piece, submitting their photos, sharing their memories.”

York said the community aspect is important in the library, which is mirrored in the work.

“The library has a very for-the-people, by-the-people feel to it, and this work reflects that,” he said. 

The library itself has served as inspiration for an aspect of the artwork: It brought to mind information systems, which led to thinking about language systems. 

“When you first encounter the piece, the lenses are arranged in Braille,” he said.

York said "UNBOUND" includes references to a wide variety of information systems of the past and present.

“There’s references to Morse code, computer punch cards, cursive writing and shorthand," he said. 

"The notion is that no matter how much we want to bind information together, we can’t do so permanently, because eventually the system will likely be obsolete.”

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