Brian Dettmer uses encyclopedias and medical journals as his medium for art. He carves into the pages, revealing detailed layers, patterns and illustration making them visually fascinating. This interests me particularly because of how pages are removed rather than added to create a sense of depth and how images and words are selected in the process, proving that these must be time consuming projects. It almost reveals how the books are rich in information and makes the onlooker experience the book differently by seeing all the knowledge ‘pouring’ out as opposed to having to get past the physical barrier of opening the book.
His pieces reverse the rolls of the onlooker and the book as if the pages are eager to share information.
