I don’t know how exactly I stumbled upon this unique form of art, but both the beauty and message keep me coming back. Brian Dettmer, based out of Atlanta, has fashioned old materials into imaginative, obscure shapes, offering a new angle to old media.
Conceding to the drop in outdated modes of entertainment (books, videocassettes, cassette tapes, vinyl records, etc) to digitized formats invading our iPods and eReaders, Dettmer takes mostly weather-worn encyclopedias, obsolete atlases or broken cassettes and gives the publications one last hurrah as the technological age ushers them out. I have encountered many DIY projects that involve the deconstruction of books, and although I can’t bring myself to destroy a book, I can definitely appreciate the beauty signified in book sculptures.
You can check out even more works at Brian Dettmer’s site.
[Image Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]
guest
These are amazing
rose / 960 posts
First of all, print in the form of books is not leaving. Print in the form of everything else is, though magazines are still popular, I think.
Second of all, this is a travesty because someone didn’t think that some books were worth reading anymore because they were “outdated.” Dettmer could have used Danielle Steel or Twilight books, hashed out a nice revenge on some really poorly written books, or made a homage out of paper-backs, which are essentially fodder for destruction. Instead he chose to tear apart informational books. Because the data didn’t seem relevant anymore.
Fucking people these days.
orchid / 106 posts
@xsPoNgEs_go_SQUISHx13@xanga - Real book sales have plummeted due to eReaders. Print is slowly losing numbers because digitized formats are transferable, portable and more convenient all-around.
I’m not sure how Dettmer finds his books, but from what I’ve read about book artists, most retrieve them from dumpsters or libraries that throw books out once they reach a certain stage of wear. So many old books get tossed – why not make them into something new? I can’t destroy books, but there is an impossible amount of old books coated in dust with nowhere to go. The art is exquisite and it came from something exquisite.
And I champion any action to take that imponderable Twilight craze down! What a cheap shot to literature!