Glen Oaks Community Library, 256-04 Union Turnpike, Queens 
A Project of the Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art Program, the Department of Design and Construction and the Queens Library 

While a library is a place to find answers to questions, there are some questions that simply have no answers. Janet Zweig investigated exactly what establishes a question as unanswerable through an online dialogue with philosophers around the world to build the collection of hundreds of unanswerable questions for her piece for the Glen Oaks Community Library's children's reading room.

Meant to be viewed in the round, this moving light sculpture will use a unique technology, consisting of circuit boards with LEDs on both sides attached to an undulating aluminum frame that will hang from the ceiling in a looping form with a long tail. Lines of light and text will slowly scroll around the sculpture, moving from one side to the other. At random times, faster-moving lines will scroll, signaling the output of one of the many unanswerable questions.

Some examples of the unanswerable questions include: For how long is now here? How do you know you're not a computer? Is an apple alive when you eat it? Is there an invisible monster behind you? Do snakes have tails? What do dragons eat? How many skies are there? Can you walk north from the North Pole? Can you dig half a hole? What color is a mirror? And finally, what is the opposite of a duck?

Project Team

Janet Zweig
Artist Janet Zweig
3-D Renderer Doris Pritchett
2-D Renderer and Studio Assistant Benjamin Cohen
Electrical Engineer and Technology Developer Todd Polenberg
Philosophy Consultant Robert M. Martin
Metal Fabricator Adam Brown

Marble Fairbanks Architects
Principal Karen Fairbanks 
Principal Scott Marble 
Designer Robert Booth 
Designer Adam Marcus 

Department of Cultural Affairs
Commissioner Kate D. Levin
Assistant Commissioner of Capital Projects Susan Chin FAIA
Percent for Art Director and Design Commission Liaison Sara Reisman
Percent for Art Deputy Director Kelly Pajek 
Percent for Art Fellow Charlotte Ickes

Department of Design and Construction
Commissioner David J. Burney FAIA
Deputy Commissioner David A. Resnick AIA
Associate Commissioner Frank D'Arpino
Assistant Commissioner Sergio Silveira RA
Assistant Commissioner and Design Commission Liaison Margot Woolley AIA
Director of Creative Services Victoria Milne 
Director of Architecture Ron Tagliagambe RA
Deputy Program Director Lap-Yan Chu
Program Director Frank Connor 
Project Director Winston Sealey PE 
Senior Design Liaison Faith Rose RA
Senior Design Project Manager Mariana Lishnevski RA 
A&E Team Leader Siglinde Stern RA
Percent for Art Liaison Xenia Diente

Queens Library
Chief Executive Officer Thomas W. Galante
Chief Operating Officer Maureen T. O'Connor
Director of Capital and Facilities Management Peter Magnani AIA 
Director of Community Library Services Dale McNeill
Director of Capital Management and Design Commission Liaison Anthony Romeo AIA
Director of Facilities Dennis Verriello 
Assistant Director of Community Library Services Manuel Figueroa
Assistant Director of Library Services Ruth Herzberg
Project Manager Joseph Amato 
Library Planner Chantal Antoine