We are proud to partner with Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) who helps us choose artworks to display in our library spaces.
Artworks on display in our libraries are either selected from the Monash University Collection or specially commissioned by MUMA.
Like a modern library, art can educate, challenge, intrigue and enrich. Many of the works explore narrative. Some of the stories are true, others are not. Some are obvious, others are hidden. Many leave space for the viewer to connect their own experiences with the images on display.
Sir Louis Matheson Library
A major installation acquired by the Monash University Museum of Art for especially for the Library. The title translates to 'spears in flight' and the work comprises 277 hand-carved spears made by a group of senior men working with young men from the Tjala Arts Centre in the community of Amata in South Australia and with Jonathan Jones, a Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist based in Sydney.
Caulfield Library
Rose Nolan’s commissioned work for the Caulfield Library emblazons the phrase ‘give or take’ across a large ground-floor wall in red and white penny tiles. Nolan works with everyday expressions and heroic statements to create works that respond to their architectural, social and cultural environments. Set within the Caulfield Library, GIVE OR TAKE invites Library users to reflect upon personal choices as well as the interchanges inherent in teaching and learning processes.
Hargrave-Andrew Library
Homage to Lawrence Hargrave by well-known Australian painter John Perceval is a ceramic mural installed high on the entry wall to the Hargrave-Andrew Library. It was among Monash University's first sculpture commissions, initiated to commemorate the achievements of the Australian explorer, astronaut and inventor whose name the library bears.
With its curious birdman, angels and sun embryo, the earthenware assemblage makes oblique reference to the human toll of nuclear science. In a university context, Perceval's work is cautionary in intent: even the search for knowledge can lead to dire consequences. His work underscores the role of the arts and humanities in encouraging self-reflection and societal dialogue.
