Writer's Block

Bebelplatz, Berlin, 1999, photo by Kay Herschelmann

Bebelplatz, Berlin, 1999. Choreography by Sommer Ulrickson, music by Ari Benjamin Meyers, photo by José Giribás Marambio

Bebelplatz, Berlin, 1999, photo by Kay Herschelmann

Jewish Museum Berlin, 1999, choreography by Sommer Ulrickson, music by Ari Benjamin Meyers, photo by José Giribás Marambio

Jewish Museum Berlin, 1999, photo by Hector Barrientos

Lions’ Courtyard, Buda Castle, Budapest, 2002, photo by Sheryl Oring

Lions’ Courtyard, Buda Castle, Budapest, 2002

Lions’ Courtyard, Buda Castle, Budapest, 2002, photo by Sheryl Oring

Lions’ Courtyard, Buda Castle, Budapest, 2002

Bryant Park, NY, 2003, photo by Sheryl Oring

Boston Public Library, 2003, photo by Gunar Guenther

Ruffin Gallery, University of Virginia, 2018, photo by Christian Carter-Ross

University of Virginia, 2018, photo by Christian Carter-Ross

Ruffin Gallery, University of Virginia, 2018, photo by Christian Carter-Ross

Stainer Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., 2018, photo by Kevin Remington

Ringling College, Sarasota, Fla., 2018, photo by William S. Speer

Ringling College, Sarasota, Fla., 2018, photo by Sheryl Oring

Writer’s Block prints, published by Landfall Press

To create "Writer's Block", Sheryl Oring collected hundreds of typewriters from the 1920s and 30s and then "caged" them in sculptural boxes made of rusty construction steel. By imprisoning the typewriters, Oring takes away the writer's tool. The result is a symbolic statement about censorship that leads viewers to examine their ideas about free expression. "Writer's Block" premiered on Berlin's Bebelplatz, site of that city's Nazi book-burning, on May 10, 1999. This was the 66th anniversary of the 1933 event that destroyed the works of authors ranging from Nelly Sachs and Else Lasker-Schaler to Bertolt Brecht and Arnold Zweig.

The sculptures were later shown at the Jewish Museum Berlin; Lions' courtyard of the Buda Castle; the Boston Public Library and Bryant Park at the New York Public Library.More recently, the sculptures have been shown at the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA), and Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, FL).

The Berlin exhibitions included a live dance-theater piece created by choreographer Sommer Ulrickson to original music by Ari Benjamin Meyers. Ulrickson and Meyers based their work on the 1933 Berlin book-burning itself, which lasted for hours and was attended by an estimated 40,000 people. New York Times report on project.

This video documents artist Sheryl Oring's sculptural installation "Writer's Block," a tribute to the writers whose books were burned in Nazi Germany and a reminder about censorship that exists today. Exhibitions were held on Bebelplatz, site of the Berlin book burning; the Jewish Museum Berlin; Lions' Courtyard at the Buda Castle in Budapest; the Boston Public LIbrary and Bryant Park at the New York Public Library.