Starting with the inaugural Waldzell Meeting, in a special annual ceremony - the Waldzell Ceremony - the lifetime works of invited exceptional personalities are to be placed on permanent display in a work of art specifically created for the purpose, the Waldzell Collection, in the famous library at Melk Abbey. The Waldzell Collection was placed permanently in the second room of the library on September 11, 2004. This point marks the end of the official tour of the library, which is visited each year by 450,000 people.
The chosen symbolic installation is a conscious reference back to the form of installing written works in the library traditionally used in the Middle Ages - namely in the form of peciae. This gives concrete expression to the continuing development and expansion of the historic library with works by major contemporary figures.
The Peciae
The Peciae were a system in Medieval universities, in order to provide for a reliable duplication of textbooks for study purposes. Standard texts were produced and, if necessary, copies were made of them. The Peciae system was originally developed in Bologna and functioned as follows:
The writers working in the university towns used as models exemplaria, which consisted of loose, unbound and numerated sheets, the so-called Peciae, which one obtained from the stationary under the supervision of the university.
What was significant about the Peciae system was that a writer received only one single Pecia (usually two double sheets = eight pages), for which he had one week's time to copy, to be exchanged after completion for the following pages. Thus several writers could use the same exemplaria at the same time, which greatly promoted script productions. The university supervised the reliability of the text of the exemplaria, a control that hardly showed effect in practice. The texts of university scripts were rarely true to the original.
On our website you can find a virtual representation of the Waldzell Collection. You have the possibility to look at all the Peciae included so far.
The Work of Art
The form of the Waldzell sculpture is suggestive of the symbol for infinity and also of a Moebius strip. Both references contribute to the symbolic importance of the object. The first symbol suggests the boundlessness of human knowledge; the Moebius strip represents a symbol of mental self-reflection, which is one attribute of knowledge and one of the underlying principles of existence.
The Waldzell Collection was made of seasoned wood and is more than 2.80 meters high.
The Artists
Clegg & Guttmann are two leading US American artists, who have specialized in library projects around the world. Michael Clegg and Martin Guttmann began working together in 1980. Since that time, their works have been exhibited many times in the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Japan, and in other countries. Their works are featured in the Whitney Museum, the Beaubourg and the Stuttgart Staatsgalerie, to mention only a few. They have taken part in the Documenta, the Whitney Biannual, the Venice Biennale and other important international exhibitions.
Melk Abbey Library
Among the rooms of a Benedictine monastery the library ranks second after the church. The elaborate artistic ornamentation indicates how valuable the monks deemed their library. Today the library of Melk Abbey houses 12 rooms, holding a total of 1,888 manuscripts, 750 incunabula (early prints before 1500 AD), 1,700 works dating from the 16th century, 4,500 works from the 17th and 18,000 works from the 18th century, which adds up, together with the more recent books, to about 100,000 volumes.
The large library hall contains around 16,000 books. The small library room contains mainly historical works dating from the 19th century and later, reflecting that era's interest. The fresco on the ceiling by Paul Troger shows an allegoric depiction of Scientia (science). Since September 11, 2004, this is the eminent location of the "Waldzell Collection" which presents the historic library with a symbolic enlargement through works of distinguished contemporaries. From the small library room you proceed to the lavishly decorated spiral staircase, which takes you to the Abbey church.
The chosen symbolic installation is a conscious reference back to the form of installing written works in the library traditionally used in the Middle Ages - namely in the form of peciae. This gives concrete expression to the continuing development and expansion of the historic library with works by major contemporary figures.
The Peciae
The Peciae were a system in Medieval universities, in order to provide for a reliable duplication of textbooks for study purposes. Standard texts were produced and, if necessary, copies were made of them. The Peciae system was originally developed in Bologna and functioned as follows:
The writers working in the university towns used as models exemplaria, which consisted of loose, unbound and numerated sheets, the so-called Peciae, which one obtained from the stationary under the supervision of the university.
What was significant about the Peciae system was that a writer received only one single Pecia (usually two double sheets = eight pages), for which he had one week's time to copy, to be exchanged after completion for the following pages. Thus several writers could use the same exemplaria at the same time, which greatly promoted script productions. The university supervised the reliability of the text of the exemplaria, a control that hardly showed effect in practice. The texts of university scripts were rarely true to the original.
On our website you can find a virtual representation of the Waldzell Collection. You have the possibility to look at all the Peciae included so far.
The Work of Art
The form of the Waldzell sculpture is suggestive of the symbol for infinity and also of a Moebius strip. Both references contribute to the symbolic importance of the object. The first symbol suggests the boundlessness of human knowledge; the Moebius strip represents a symbol of mental self-reflection, which is one attribute of knowledge and one of the underlying principles of existence.
The Waldzell Collection was made of seasoned wood and is more than 2.80 meters high.
The Artists
Clegg & Guttmann are two leading US American artists, who have specialized in library projects around the world. Michael Clegg and Martin Guttmann began working together in 1980. Since that time, their works have been exhibited many times in the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Japan, and in other countries. Their works are featured in the Whitney Museum, the Beaubourg and the Stuttgart Staatsgalerie, to mention only a few. They have taken part in the Documenta, the Whitney Biannual, the Venice Biennale and other important international exhibitions.
Melk Abbey Library
Among the rooms of a Benedictine monastery the library ranks second after the church. The elaborate artistic ornamentation indicates how valuable the monks deemed their library. Today the library of Melk Abbey houses 12 rooms, holding a total of 1,888 manuscripts, 750 incunabula (early prints before 1500 AD), 1,700 works dating from the 16th century, 4,500 works from the 17th and 18,000 works from the 18th century, which adds up, together with the more recent books, to about 100,000 volumes.
The large library hall contains around 16,000 books. The small library room contains mainly historical works dating from the 19th century and later, reflecting that era's interest. The fresco on the ceiling by Paul Troger shows an allegoric depiction of Scientia (science). Since September 11, 2004, this is the eminent location of the "Waldzell Collection" which presents the historic library with a symbolic enlargement through works of distinguished contemporaries. From the small library room you proceed to the lavishly decorated spiral staircase, which takes you to the Abbey church.