Brian Dettmer

I've been paying attention to Brian Dettmer's work for a while. He takes old found books, especially dictionaries and encyclopedias of different sorts, and alters them. His cutting of the pages leaves select images and text that create new visual spaces within the structure of the original book. The re-purposing of old obsolete materials isn't anything new, but his way of working is quite unique. It reminds me of A Humument by Tom Phillips. Same end result though Dettmer's work is in the round. It makes me think about how we use books and text to communicate, the layout of systems like that, and how someone can adapt that linear structure to new ends.

Brian Dettmer's Website

Humument Website

Happily consumed by her art.

I was at Brown University the other day and they had this great exhibition of Joseph Cornell, Hannah Wilke, and Lee Bontecou among others. I always enjoy seeing Bontecou's work, whether it be her drawing or sculpture. They're so powerful, raw and scary. The experience I have in front of something like this sculpture is that I'm vulnerable. It's something you want to get close to, and simultaneously you don't want to get too close. Lasting work.

Lee Bontecou's work on the MOMA website