In his first journal entry in 1837, eight years before he moved to Walden Pond, Thoreau declares “I seek a garret. The spiders must not be disturbed, nor the floor swept, nor the lumber arranged.” Walking on the trail through the woodlands, visitors come across a structure created by Richard Torchia, an unfinished room or garret in the woods, a structure based on the dimensions of Thoreau’s cabin. The windows are replaced by lenses which project a live image of the surroundings (upside-down) onto the opposite wall. Once inside, visitors experience the unmediated projections of the woodlands, and the have opportunity to sense the forest more fully. Excerpts from journal entries for the days between June 7 and August 25 are reproduced daily for visitors to read. This project, located on one of the few level areas not far from the street, is a reminder that Thoreau’s exile was not far from civilization. The sound of the Metro-North trains can be heard as clearly as Thoreau heard the trains traveling between Boston and Fitchburg.

For many years, Thoreau’s writing, particularly his journals, has been a source of inspiration for Richard Torchia. He uses primitive optical devices to illuminate elemental over-looked phenomenon such as gravity, the physics of light and the formation of images. A Key to the Garden was a camera obscura pavilion built for the Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA. He has exhibited at other Philadelphia institutions including the Eastern State Penitentiary, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and The Print Center. He was an artist-in-residence at Evergreen House at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD where he created a site-specific project in 2006. He has received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant and a Pew Fellowship for photography. He is the director of Arcadia University Art Gallery, Glenside, PA. He received his BA in English from the College of Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.