PAPERWEIGHTS
by Nazy Nazhand



A few days after the opening of the New Museum’s "Museum as Hub: The Bidoun Library Project" -- a high-low mix of periodicals, historical books, propaganda manuals, state-sponsored children’s books, romance novels and other printed materials from and about the Middle East -- the New York Times Magazine published an article on "Physical books’ bright future -- as decorative objects and props" by Rob Walker. The article was a clever take on the many uses of books (remember books?) as materials in the age of Kindle, from intricately carved works of art to a source of wallpaper (the book pages).  The parallels were uncanny.

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