American filmmaker-artist Alan Berliner has dedicated the majority of his work to the legacy of the family album and the personal histories embedded within surnames. During his 2002 residency at the Walker Art Center, Berliner transformed the center’s lobby wall to reflect the neighborhood surrounding the museum: the mural contained more than 18,000 surnames representing approximately 42,000 people who live within this 10 zip-code area. The artist also created an interactive installation in the Anderson Window Gallery in which visitors could research their names.

American filmmaker-artist Alan Berliner has dedicated the majority of his work to the legacy of the family album and the personal histories embedded within surnames. During his 2002 residency at the Walker Art Center, Berliner transformed the center’s lobby wall to reflect the neighborhood surrounding the museum: the mural contained more than 18,000 surnames representing approximately 42,000 people who live within this 10 zip-code area. The artist also created an interactive installation in the Anderson Window Gallery in which visitors could research their names.

"Names are our titles, our passports to the world, the opening words to the stories of our lives. In many ways, they function as compressed histories, cultural badges that provide clues to our race, religion, ethnicity, kinship, class, and nationality. Each name we encounter is a window to a different history, an unfamiliar tradition or heritage, a new sound, sometimes even a new language. One way or another, every name offers up the promise of a unique story."—Alan Berliner