Look: ‘Art Made from Books’

Artists see things the rest of us can’t, and in “Art Made from Books,” they transform print books in ways that can make a devoted reader wince. Books are cut, glued, painted, sewed, sculpted, eviscerated -- just about any modification you can think of, including being immersed in water to disintegrate, has been tried.

But as violent as some of these transformations might seem, they’re all done with a real affection for books as objects, an appreciation of their function.”The form of the book, a symbol for ideas, information, and literature, may be the most relevant signifier and the richest material we can work with today,” book artist Brian Dettmer writes in the preface. “Art Made from Books” includes his work and that of 26 other artists. It’s out now.