I discovered Brian Dettmer awhile back, but was reminded of his beautiful work this morning when Boing Boing mentioned him in a post. Using vintage books, surgical tools and a very steady hand, Dettmer carefully cuts into the pages of the book, excising words and images, leaving behind a skeleton of layered images and tantalizing bits of text to create an astonishing new experience of the book. The image to the left is from an old Webster's Dictionary and offers a lovely, albeit ironic, view of the dictionary as a book of images rather than words.
Aron Packer Gallery describes Dettmer's work as "intricate creations, which seek both to seduce the eye and provoke the mind. Through the cut open cover of a book the viewer sees layers of specifically selected text and illustration carved from the pages of the book. Through the gaps in an architectural drawing or perhaps the chambers of the human heart, one can see a word peeking through, perhaps a clue to the larger meanings of the piece. These pieces seek to bridge the gap between a medium's form and its message."
You can see a good deal more of Dettmer's work at the Aron Packer Gallery, the Toomey Tourell Gallery, and the Haydée Rovirosa Gallery. Also, I just discovered Matt Cheney over at the Mumpsimus has a longer post about Dettmer's work as well.
that is absolutely mesmerizing.
Posted by: Dianna | September 19, 2007 at 02:15 PM
Oh my! Those are amazing!
Posted by: Carl V. | September 26, 2007 at 12:04 PM