Let’s see your ereader do this.

Artwork by Brian Dettmer

Brian Dettmer is “the Book Surgeon.” Carving sections out of antiquated encyclopedias and reference books, he sculpts astonishing three-dimensional pieces like these.

Artwork by Brian Dettmer

Artwork by Brian Dettmer

By no means is he the only artist in this medium. Guy Laramee’s geological book sculptures are also quite something, from the simplicity of the zen garden to the hyper-detailed furrows of his river valleys.

Artwork by Guy Laramee

Much of Jacqueline Rush Lee’s work reintroduces the book as a completely different biological form, like petrified wood, an endoskeleton, or… I like to think that’s a California roll.

Artwork by Jacqueline Rush Lee

But they don’t make as much use of the content within the book, which is what Dettmer’s getting at and why I particularly like his. Whatever composition of text and image Dettmer reveals, only that book will produce, so it makes the role of the book that much more necessary to the piece. I honestly haven’t seen much book sculpture, so because of the novelty, the form tends to overwhelm the other elements for me (though it overwhelms with “holy shit!”). But just like anything else, spend some time with it and the details emerge. Have a look through these artists’ links and see what else they’ve done.

Mein gott, I feel lazy just looking at these things.