Night Stand

Solid Cherry with resin accents

Silver Lake Library Pods

These stand-alone street libraries, created by Susan Simpson, each feature a peephole scene depicting iconic Silver Lake images. The design is inspired by egg-shaped phone booths and pre-cinematic viewing devices. This project was commissioned by the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. The libraries will be stocked and maintained by The Friends of the Silver Lake Library. The pods will be installed at Bellevue Park in Silver Lake and at the Triangle Park at Sunset and Griffith Park sometime in 2021.

Peepshow scene for Bellevue Park Pod

Depicts the iconic gymnastic rings at the park. The kaleidoscopic effect makes gymnasts appear in motion.

Peephole Scene for Triangle Park Library Pod

The scene depicts iconic signs of Sunset Blvd, including those carried down Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake during an LGBTQ rights demonstration in February 1968 protesting a New Year’s Eve raid on the Black Cat Bar. The kaleidoscopic effect creates movement within the montage.

Peephole Scene for Triangle Park Library Pod

The scene depicts iconic signs of Sunset Blvd, including those carried down Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake during an LGBTQ rights demonstration in February 1968 protesting a New Year’s Eve raid on the Black Cat Bar.

Silver Lake Library Time Capsule

A cast concrete time capsule. Designed and fabricated by Susan Simpson for the Silver Lake Library and commissioned by The Friends of the Silver Lake Library. The capsule will be sealed for ten years. It features a custom lock that will be advanced each year until reaching 2030 when a release will be triggered. The interior contains nesting wooden boxes to hold ephemera.

Silver Lake Library Time Capsule

Cast concrete body, steel lid, resin lock with interior maple boxes

Interior of the Silver Lake Library Time Capsule viewed from above

The stacked interior boxes are each removable.

Time Capsule Lock

Huntington Library Design Projects

Over the past few years, I have lead three projects for the Huntington Library, Art Galleries and Botanical Gardens. The first was as an Artist in Residence working with local high school students. Together with the students and their teachers we created a 700ft photo mural. The mural stretched around a construction site for two years during the completion of the new Huntington facilities. The second project was the design of an outdoor mobile display unit to exhibit artwork created by students from schools partnering with the Huntington. The third project was creation of an illustrated map of the Huntington using drawings and thank-you letters from young visitors. This was installed in the mobile display unit.

Display Cases for Huntington Education Center

Designer, two outdoor display cases for The Huntington's Education Center in 2015. These are portable units for the purpose of exhibiting student artwork and ephemera related to their art-making processes. These View Masters contained images of the students at work on the project exhibited and quotes from them about their creative process.

3 Simpson Huntington Exhibition Cabinet.jpg

Change the World One Bus at A Time 2016

Designer, A multi-panel three dimensional map of the grounds created for the mobile display cases designed in 2015. The map was illustrated with children's drawings of Huntington artwork and gardens. It is part of a fundraising campaign for field trips to The Huntington.

Second Campus Photomural

Design and Project Coordination. A 700ft photomural created with students from three high schools that partner with The Huntington. The students were all photographed holding photos that they took at the Huntington and in and around their neighborhood of East Los Angeles. The mural stretched around the construction site for two years during the construction of the new Huntington facilities.

Augustine September Kiosk

The Far East Plaza, Chinatown, Los Angeles

September - December 2014

This kiosk was a design and performance project for Automata. It was both puppet theater and display case. It housed an “artist in residence”, the puppet known as Augustine September, who painted pictures and made performance art incorporating objects and imagery from around the plaza. The display cases featured Augustine’s work that strung together a fictional narrative inspired by the goings on about the plaza. The peepholes offered magnified views of objects collected in the vicinity.

Kiosk designed for Augustine September, 2014

Kiosk design and built around a pre-existing vendor kiosk in The Far East Plaza, Chinatown, Los Angeles. The kiosk included windows for viewing performance, display cases and peepshows.

Detail Augustine September Kiosk

Peephole for Augustine September Kiosk

The Infinite Library

A cabinet of dioramas and peepshows created by Susan Simpson, a public artwork commissioned by The City of Inglewood. The Infinite Library was installed in April of 2017 and is on permanent display at The Crenshaw Imperial Library. The dioramas depict unusual libraries from around the world.

Reading Ours

Reading Ours, founded by Robby Herbst and Kimberly Varella, is a micro-gallery celebrating the book, published objects, the history of publication, and the reader. It’s a tiny space for big ideas in Los Angeles.

Susan Simpson designed and the architectural elements for Reading Ours, transforming a small garage into tiny jewel box exhibition space

Phase 1