Maine artist Larry Clifford began creating BiblioQuilts during the COVID-19 pandemic after his wife called him out on hoarding old books in their basement. Photo courtesy Larry Clifford
Worn-out books have found new life on town library walls as art instead of reading material.
In Larry Clifford’s BiblioQuilts exhibit at the Brookline Village branch of the Public Library of Brookline, tattered covers and faded spines are transformed into colorful collages. The exhibit runs through April 30, with a closing talk and demonstration by Clifford on the final day.
Clifford, a Maine artist, began creating BiblioQuilts during the COVID-19 pandemic after his wife called him out on hoarding old books in their basement.
Some had been in his collection for decades.
“When I looked at the covers, the spines, the colors, and the characters they have, I thought ‘There’s going to be an art project here,’” Clifford said in an interview.
The process is meticulous. Clifford selects book covers by color, cuts them into geometric shapes by hand, and arranges them into quilt-like patterns on boards. He sometimes restores faded covers with acrylic paint before sealing the work with varnish.
“A 4-foot-by-4-foot piece will typically take me about 160 hours,” he said. “It’s not like I can crank them out.”
Clifford is not a quilter by trade. In high school, he was torn between becoming a physician or a studio artist. A guidance counselor urged him to consider medical illustration, which combined his two interests.
He worked in that profession for several years before losing interest, eventually returning to art through BiblioQuilts.
Over the past five years, Clifford has exhibited his work in library galleries across New England, accepting donations from bookstores along the way.
Some pieces have a specific theme, like “Massachusetts,” where Clifford used distressed books sourced from around the state, assembling them into a composition of browns, greens and golds that pay homage to its landscape.
“I would much rather turn them into artwork, give them a new life, than see them end up in the landfill,” he said.
At the Brookline Public Library, aging books are typically not donated to the public because of municipal spending rules, said Jessica Steytler, the head of reference. Instead, it sells books through the Friends of the Brookline Public Library, typically priced between $2 and $3.
Still, Steytler believes Clifford’s work highlights a different possibility for aging collections.
“I’m just really happy that we can provide space to artists to allow them to show their work and inspire other people,” Steytler said. “Larry’s work is a great library exhibit because it does show the ways in which books can be used beyond just sitting on the shelf.”
The exhibit cannot be found on the library’s main floor. Instead, it is housed in Hunneman Hall, the library’s primary event space.
“There was no space to put it,” Steytler said of the exhibit’s quiet resting place.
The room, often used for children’s story times and after-school programs, was largely empty during a visit after the exhibit’s opening.
Spare chairs lined the walls of the barren room. On a table was a small print-out describing the art.
Steytler still hopes visitors make their way upstairs.
“Hopefully, people notice that there is space up there and go to see it,” she said.
Clifford will close the exhibit April 30 by sharing his creative journey and demonstrating how he constructs his BiblioQuilts, a final look at how discarded books can be pieced back together to create something new.
This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.