mark reigelman builds reading nest from 10,000 palette boards

mark reigelman builds reading nest from 10,000 palette boardsall images courtesy of mark a. reigelman II

a visual intermediary between forest and fowl, ‘the reading nest’ is a large, temporary installation offering the public a retreat from the busy city streets of cleveland, ohio. conceived as a symbol of growth, community and knowledge, artist mark reigelman has constructed the large roost (13′ tall and 36′ wide) from a simple wooden 2″ x 4″, reinforced with 200′ of steel cable, clad in 10,000 reclaimed palette boards, 4,000 of which have been left raw, while 6,000 have been painted with a gold finish–the entire interior is covered in these golden boards, while the exterior is a combination of the two and is held together by 40,000 nails. reigelman’s urban retreat draws its influences from the tree of enlightenment, an important symbol within the history of mythological objects of knowledge, speaking to its site-specific location positioned outside of the cleveland public library.

‘the reading nest’ positioned outside of the cleveland public library

up close look at the crude construction in which 10,000 discarded palettes clad a basic wooden armature

the interior of the nest is covered in golden boards, the color choice drawing on the legendary griffin

general view

the large roost stands at 13′ tall and 36′ wide

aerial view

time lapse of the reading nest’s constructionvideo courtesy of LAND studio

‘the reading nest’ is presented by the cleveland public library and LAND studio.

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