The top may not reach unto heaven, but the Argentinian
artist Marta Minujin's 25-metre tower is made of 30,000 books in
languages from all over the world. Built in San Martin Square,
Buenos Aires to mark the Argentinian city's naming as 2011 World
Book Capital, the artist suggested that in 100 years people will
say 'there was a Tower of Babel in Argentina ... and it didn't need
translation because art needs no translation'
The 30,000 books which make up the seven
stories of the Tower of Babel have been donated by readers,
libraries and more than 50 embassies.
As visitors ascend to the
top of the tower, they can hear music composed by Minujin, and the
artist repeating the word 'book' in many
languages.
The artist
Marta Minujin, above, said that building the tower has been a
"miraculous experience", suggesting that her role as an artist was
to "unite all people"
The tower is due to be dismantled on 28 May, when
literary enthusiasts will be invited to pick one book each. The
remaining books will begin an archive called The Library of Babel,
after the Jorge Luis Borges short
story.
The tower also offers breathtaking
views of Buenos Aires, views which will be impossible to recreate
after the work is taken down on 28
May
Children's books
are packed next to adventure stories, translations of poetry next
to comics.