trace

Susan Magnus conceived of Trace in response to the history and architecture of the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York. Also known as the Howland Library, the building was designed in 1872 by Richard Morris Hunt and served as the city’s public library until 1976 when the collection of books was moved to a larger, more contemporary structure. Magnus chose to address the building’s former purpose by creating spectral books made of folded tracing paper, arranging them on the remaining library shelves located on the second floor balcony of the building’s vaulted interior.