Book Review : Art Made from Books

Art Made from Books: Altered, Sculpted, Carved, Transformed

by Laura Heyenga (Compiler), Brian Dettmer (Preface), Alyson Kuhn (Introduction)

Books are a work of art in and of themselves. Writers are artists carefully selecting their words, displaying them within pages of paper bound between two covers.  Some artists have taken the book as art to the next level, creating sculptures, jewelry, and even clothes from the physical book itself.  Commonly called “altering books,” the craft is the subject of a new book titled Art Made from Books: Altered, Sculpted, Carved, Transformed.

Altered books aren’t a new idea.  Preface author Brian Dettmer says, “There has been a long tradition of art about the book, of art representing books, of artists’ books and even altered books; however, in the last five years I have noticed a huge rise in practicing artists and a more interested audience.”  He also talks about how the rise of the Internet has made some books obsolete, and altering books gives them a new purpose and life.  

Filled with color photographs of the artists’ pieces, the book is a beautiful collection showcasing their work. The book also contains an informative introduction by Alyson Kuhn about the various processes of making altered books, the different directions artists take in creating them, and other tidbits about the craft.

One of the artists featured is Jeremy May.  His specialty is making jewelry from pages of books.  The book says, “[May’s] process is methodical: after reading the book, he selects a distinctive quote that inspires the design of the piece; he then removes a selection of pages, laminating with additional recycled colored paper and then polishing them to a high gloss.”  The result is a truly unique and beautiful work of art that celebrates the book itself.  To see more of Jeremy May’s work, visit his website at http://littlefly.co.uk/.

Jeremy May is just one of the dozens of wonderful artists highlighted in this book.  To see the rest of the artists and their amazing work, check out Art Made from Books.  You can find it with the call number TT896.3 .H49 2013.