Reversing Vandalism

Slate has a good slide show essay about an intriguing art exhibit.

For nearly a year, a vandal mutilated more than 600 books on gay and lesbian themes at the San Francisco Public Library. Without explanation, he carved up covers and pages and left small typewritten slips of paper advertising a Bible radio station tucked inside the damaged works. Ironically, his attempt to rid the library of these books resulted in a far stronger statement from the community: With help from artists around the country, the San Francisco Public Library transformed the crime into an art show titled "Reversing Vandalism," which features more than 200 works of various mediums and is on view in three galleries at the library through May 2.

The vandal - a quiet, middle-aged apartment security guard with no criminal record - had a rather expansive view of what constituted the protocols of the gay agenda. "Among the books destroyed were works by author Gay Talese and those concerning the Enola Gay, the famous World War II warplane, as well as romance novels and books on women's health."

The International Association of Altered Book Artists has an essay by one of the artists, Aileen Roberts, along with many more pictures from the exhibit of over 200 works. Links to several more pages about the exhibit can be found here.