Truffle Finds Pig

This edition was produced in sync with a two-part exhibition at the Mu.Zee in Ostend, Belgium. Part I was titled Object Lessons. Mu.Zee displayed nineteen newly acquired Nesting Bookcases (1990-present) in its lobby from mid-summer into the fall. The Nesting Bookcase is both an art object and a bookcase, interesting to look at and to use. It is comprised of a rectangular compartment with four independent shelves. Each one is smaller than the next so that they can nest inside each another. The carrying strap acts as a structural tension belt to stabilize the whole setup, whether standing or in motion. At Mu.ZEE the two main functions of the Nesting Bookcase — standing still and being in motion – mirror the two institutions involved in the exhibition, the museum and the city.

Part II was titled Truffle Finds Pig. During part II, residents of Ostend had the exclusive opportunity to borrow Nesting Bookcases from Mu.Zee. They could give them pride of place in their home or place of business, anywhere in the city. The placements could be arranged for a month, several months, or even a year! The museum literally went out into the world! Residents learned more by reading interviews that were published in the local newspaper de Zeewacht.

Hence the sensational front page “news” of a truffle finding a pig, a play on the age-old journalist maxim of “man bites dog.”