The Secret Society of Forbidden Literature is a public art installation at New York Public Library’s Mid-Manhattan branch about banned books. The installation offers unique modes of entry into the discussion of censored books including burned books, LED signs and custom perfumes.
LED signs hang in the windows of the Corner Room facing the street. These LED signs contain passages from books such as Alice in Wonderland, Beloved, Leaves of Grass, and Slaughterhouse-Five. These passages at one time or another contributed to the books’ censorship. The placement of the LEDs are symbolic, these books that have a sordid history inside libraries, are now represented inside the library looking out at the public.
