Sculptures that breathe new life into old books
What to do with outdated reference books?
Brian Dettmer’s book Autopsies
Brian Dettmer uses knives and surgical tools to carefully carve one page at a time, a painstakingly detailed task with amazing results.
“Everything you see in the finished piece is exactly where it was before I began.”
See
From dissembling, carving, and folding individual books to stacking and suspending whole books, artists have an affinity for books as an art medium.
Human Skull Carved from Books by Maskull Lasserre
Guy Laramée
Math Monahan
Intertwined Pages Naturally Form Intricate Book Sculptures
Enclosed Content Chatting Away in the Colour Invisibility by Anouk Kruithof
This wall by artist Anouk Kruithof, entitled Enclosed Content Chatting Away in the Colour Invisibility, consists of more than 3,500 colorful bound books stacked in a precariously balanced, rectangular pile. Born in the Netherlands, Kruithof believes in the infinite possibilities of photography. She builds many sculptures and minimalist structures that serve as the base for her work and then documents the work through her camera lens.
"The Parthenon of Books" by Marta Minujin
Argentine artist Marta Minujin collected 100,000 copies of 170 different banned books — including Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Bible — and affixed them to a wire sculpture in the exact dimensions of the Parthenon. You can read the short list of banned book titles online in the sculpture. The books are wrapped in plastic bags, and the copies will be donated to the public after the temporary art piece is taken down. The sculpture is part of this year’s Documenta art show. (thelocal)
Say
Censorship, the persecution of writers, and the prohibition of their texts motivated by political interests and attempts to influence our thoughts, our ideas, and our bodies are once again widespread today. Why might it be essential to save books, even controversial ones?
Books have a sacredness to them, and some take issue with modifying them. What is your stance?
With so much information digitally available, do you think books will become obsolete? Why/Why not
Do
Consider creating a work of art from a book. What would you make? Would you rather use a book you didn’t care for or a favorite book?
About the Artist
Brian Dettmer is an American contemporary artist noted for altering preexisting media—such as old books, maps, record albums, and cassette tapes—to create new, transformed works of visual fine art.
Dettmer was born and raised in Naperville, Illinois in 1974. Until 2006, he lived in and around Chicago, where he earned a BA in fine arts from Columbia College Chicago in 1997. During school and following graduation, Dettmer worked as an artist and in positions related to graphics and signage design. In 2006, Dettmer moved with his wife to Atlanta, where he worked as a studio artist. (Brown 2008; Camper 2005). In 2013, Dettmer and his family relocated to New York City, where he continues his work today.
As a student, Dettmer focused primarily on painting. When he began to work in a sign shop, his work began to explore the relationship between text, images, language, and codes, including paintings based on braille, Morse Code, and American Sign Language. He then began to make work by repeatedly pasting newspapers and book pages to canvas and tearing off pieces, leaving behind layered fragments. (Sasaki 2009; Brown 2008; Camper 2005). In 2000, Dettmer started experimenting by gluing and cutting into books, the medium for which he is now best known. (Brown 2008).
Dettmer’s sculptures can be found in the permanent collection of several notable institutions, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, DC; The Art Institute of Chicago Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, IL; The High Museum, GA; The Museum of Contemporary Art, GA; and the Yale University Art Gallery, CT. He has recently lectured at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and The New York Public Library in New York. In 2014, he spoke at the TED Youth conference. Brian Dettmer’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Chicago Tribune, Art News, Modern Painters, Wired, The Village Voice, Harper’s, and NPR, among many others.
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Another amazing artist with a fascinating story. Inspiring!