Brian Dettmer makes wonderfully intricate work using found books and maps, which he carves into to reveal the illustrations within.

Brian Dettmer - Untitled

Needless to say, I love the obsessive quality of this work but the results are stunning too - he's clearly got a strong eye because the pieces also work well as collages. I particularly love his map pieces where he's dissected maps leaving only the road systems, which he's layered over each other to make works that seem far more related to anatomy books than cartography.

Brian Dettmer - Untitled

There's an interesting little discussion of his work here, with comments ranging from 'wow, that's amazing' to 'it's horrible because he's destroying books'. What do you think? Is it a valid form of art if you destroy/seriously alter other creative works to make it? I think so but as a confirmed bookworm, I also understand the resistance to reusing books in this way.

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