I'm against book defacement on principle, but...WOW!

[Judithe, Soap Operas never end....]

This is something I found over on FB, and just had to share with my "book-y friends". You can see the article and several more incredible pieces here. Here's a tantalizer to get you started~



Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time. Nothing inside the out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries is relocated or implanted, only removed.

Dettmer manipulates the pages and spines to form the shape of his sculptures. He also folds, bends, rolls, and stacks multiple books to create completely original sculptural forms.

"My work is a collaboration with the existing material and its past creators and the completed pieces expose new relationships of the book’s internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception," he says.

"The richness and depth of the book is universally respected yet often undiscovered as the monopoly of the form and relevance of the information fades over time. The book’s intended function has decreased and the form remains linear in a non-linear world. By altering physical forms of information and shifting preconceived functions, new and unexpected roles emerge."

Dettmer is originally from Chicago, where he studied at Columbia College. He currently lives and works in Atlanta, GA.

[Barbara ★]

WOW that is truly amazing! I wonder what ever caused him to think of doing this. What an incredible idea!

[Kate]

I'm also against book defacement but that's beautiful. And it's using the book in a good way.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Holy cow, that's wild.

[[deleted user]]

That really is fantastic! I'd love to sit a watch him create one of these amazing sculptures, it would probably just about kill me cause I love books but that is really amazing :)

[Judithe, Soap Operas never end....]

That was my thought, too, Kat! Isn't cool that people come up with so many different ideas...

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Wow, Amazing stuff. He's not getting near my books though. LOL

[Josie]

Lol! Very cool artwork :)

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Sandra wrote: "Wow, Amazing stuff. He's not getting near my books though. LOL"

LOL! Like those talking car alarms .... "Step away from the bookshelf."

[Dana]

Oh, fantastic! What an excellent version of a diorama!

[Valerie]

This is amazing! Old reference books seem really hard to get rid of, so this is a great way of turning them into something new instead. :)

[★Meghan★]

They look a little like bookends. I would love one of those for my bookshelf...And I agree I wouldn't want him to touch my books at all!