Torn Notebook consists of aluminum half-pages mounted on a steel armature. Words, cut in to the aluminum by the force of a water jet, are functional as well as aesthetic, and help the structures withstand strong Nebraska winds. Lincoln's Torn Notebook embodies the social, cultural and physical environment of our community combined with each individual's own sense of time and place. The artist swished it to be placed on the frontier, hence the chosen location at the edge of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus a characteristic somewhat unique to Lincoln as a result of the proximity of the campus to the city. The work is both autobiographical and metaphorical.
Many identifiable icons represent things that relate specifically to the Nebraska area.
The fluttering pages, for example, are reminiscent of birds carried by the heartland winds. The spiral binding can be seen on one level as a tornado spinning across the plains. The notebook's tear follows the line of the Platte River across the Nebraska map. Van Bruggen is not only an art historian but also a poet. To Oldenburg, the written word has always been as meaningful as drawing.