Endangered Alphabets: Artist talk

Endangered Alphabets: Artist talk: Monday, August 1, 7 p.m.: The world’s 6000-7000 languages are written in fewer than 100 alphabets, of which at least one-third are endangered. The Endangered Alphabets Project, an exhibition of carvings which will be on display at the Sachem Public Library for the month of August, is the first-ever attempt to bring attention to this issue. Every one of the Endangered Alphabets (Inuktitut, Baybayin, Manchu, Bugis, Bassa Vah, Cherokee, Samaritan, Mandaic, Syriac, Khmer, Pahauh Hmong, Balinese, Tifinagh and Nom) is carved and painted into a slab of Vermont curly maple, challenging our assumptions about language, about beauty, and about the fascinating interplay between function and grace that takes place when we invent symbols for the sounds we speak.

Artist Tim Brookes will be at the library Monday, August 1 at 7:00pm to discuss the genesis of the project and give a personal tour of this remarkable and thought-provoking exhibit.