The Living Word installed at the entrance to "Word Play: Contemporary Art by Xu Bing.

Characters for the Word "bird" take flight from the dictionary translation on the gallery floor.

As the characters rise up into the air, they transform into a flock of birds

Detail view of the characters taking flight.

An early drawing of Xu Bing's idea of The Living Word.

A drawing showing the transformation of the characters.

A drawing showing the plans for the installation of The Living Word at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

A plan for The Living Word.

An installation plan.

A design for the final "bird" in the installation.

Installing The Living Word