Retired art librarian Angela “Anji” Holtzman will give walking art tours of the Harold Washington Library Center on May 13, June 10, July 8 and August 12.
Perhaps no one is more qualified to give tours of the library's public art. Anji has known the collection from its days at the old central library, now the Chicago Cultural Center, and was here when a large number of pieces were purchased as part of the City’s Percent for Art program for the opening of the current library in 1991.
Q: What is your art background?
A: I was crafty as a kid and started working in the Art Department of the library at age 16, filing pictures in the Picture Collection, which was very visually stimulating. I did an art history minor in college and got a degree in arts management, while spending much of my career in CPL’s Art Department.
Q: As a retired art librarian from Chicago Public Library, you must have a unique perspective on the art at the Harold Washington Library Center! What would you say are some of the highlights of the collection?
A: The tour offers insight and humorous stories associated with the works. Each piece has its own story to tell. My personal favorite is Michiko Itatani's Torque Sequence in the escalator well going from the 1st to 2nd floors.
Q: You were here when the Harold Washington Library was built. Do you have any notable memories from the installation of the public artwork?
A: I remember seeing Jacob Lawrence at age 71 installing his mosaic piece, Events in the Life of Harold Washington. He selected the colored tiles and placed them on a canvas tarp on the floor, moved and arranged each tile to his liking, then stone masons cemented it onto the wall. He was at the library working on it for about six weeks.
Q: What would you say is unique about the art collection in HWLC?
A: Its invisibility. Patrons come in to the building on a particular mission, as if they had blinders on. Come in, get my book, use my computer, leave! They never see the art. This is why I give the tours—to raise awareness of the collection in the minds of the patrons.
