brian dettmer: textonomy brian dettmer: textonomy
jan 17, 2012

brian dettmer: textonomy

‘there’s nothing to fear’, 2011 paperback books, acrylic medium 7in x 3in x 73inall images courtesy of toomey and tourell gallery and brian dettmer

brian dettmer: textonomy toomey tourell gallery, san francisco, california february 2nd until march 17th, 2012

atlanta-based artist brian dettmer has created his ‘textonomy’ installation for toomey and tourell gallery. the sculptor creatively destroys solely vintage non-fiction books– outdated dictionaries, encyclopedias and history text that would otherwise remain unread and recycled. each work is comprised of an antiquated text, having been sealed at the page edges in order to exist as a singular form.  the artist then carves away from the lacquered form through the use of scalpels, tweezers and x-acto knifes. dettmer develops a physically devised interpretation of the words and images available in each book. the alternate function provides a recontextualization of the once-static objects.

dettmer carves into the ends of the pages, excavating hidden words and phrases, framed by the larger cuts made to spell ‘there’s nothing to fear’

‘universal standard’, 2012 hardcover books, acrylic medium, 42-1/4in x 13in x 13in (28in x 16in x 16in pedestal, 70-1/2in x 16in x 16in w/ pedestal)

the texts which form the column of ‘universal standard’ and sealed in such a way that each chiseled image is framed by the hard cover of the books.

‘aching days of england’, 2011 hardcover book, acrylic medium 15-3/8in x 20-1/2in x 1-1/4in

detailed view of ‘aching days of england’

dettmer’s works are a reinterpretation of historical images and words

‘american peoples’, 2011 vintage set of encyclopedias, acrylic medium 61in x 39in x 14in

‘prose and poetry adventures’, 2011 hardcover book, acrylic medium, ink jet print, frame book 8-1/2in x 7-1/2in x 1-3/4in frame 15-1/8in x 12-1/8in x 3/4in

wide view of ‘lands and peoples’, 2011 hardcover books, acrylic medium 29-1/2in x 29-1/2in x 2in

detailed view

each of the books which comprise the entire piece are never enhanced with additional material, but rather, chipped away to reveal the inner contents.

‘macmillan’, 2011  hardcover book, acrylic medium 11-1/8in x 9-1/2in x 2-1/8in

a detailed view of macmillan

‘brian dettmer – remixed media’ by alfredo aponte

leigha db
jan 17, 2012

  • Extraordinary….

    joseph says:
    Jan 17, 2012

  • Remarkable!

    Manuel says:
    Jan 17, 2012

  • Yawn.

    How many people will keep doing this?

    Seen it once, that was clever. Once.

    Matt W says:
    Jan 17, 2012

have something to add? share your thoughts in our comments section below.

comments policy
LOG IN
designboom's comment policy guidelines
generally speaking, if we publish something, it's because we're genuinely interested in the subject. we hope you'll share this interest and if you know even more about it, please share! our goal in the discussion threads is to have good conversation and we prefer constructive opinions. we and our readers have fun with entertaining ones. designboom welcomes alerts about typos, incorrect names, and the like.
the correction is at the discretion of the post editor and may not happen immediately.

what if you disagree with what we or another commenter has to say?
let's hear it! but please understand that offensive, inappropriate, or just plain annoying comments may be deleted or shortened.

- please do not make racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic or otherwise offensive comments.
- please don't personally insult the writers or your fellow commenters.
- please avoid using offensive words, replacing a few letters with asterisks is not a valid workaround.
- please don't include your website or e-mail address in your comments for the purpose of self-promotion.
- please respect jury verdicts and do not discuss offensively on the competition results
(there is only one fist prize, and designboom usually asks renown professionals to help us to promote talent.
in addition to the awarded designs, we do feel that almost all deserve our attention, that is why we publish
the best 100-200 entries too.)

a link is allowed in comments as long as they add value in the form of information, images, humor, etc. (links to the front page of your personal blog or website are not okay). unwelcome links (to commercial products or services of others, offensive material etc. ) will be redacted. and, ... yes, spam gets banned. no, we do not post fake comments.

forgot password

(4 articles)

(195 articles)

PRODUCT LIBRARY

a diverse digital database that acts as a valuable guide in gaining insight and information about a product directly from the manufacturer, and serves as a rich reference point in developing a project or scheme.

art news

thomas jorion documents the ornate interiors of italy's abandoned architecture thomas jorion documents the ornate interiors of italy's abandoned architecture
feb 20, 2019

thomas jorion documents the ornate interiors of italy's abandoned architecture

#art

in some scenes floor tiles have come loose, while in others the ceiling has collapsed entirely — creating a dramatic contrast between the decorative interior »

in some scenes floor tiles have come loose, while in others the ceiling has collapsed entirely — creating a dramatic contrast between the decorative interior and the ruin it is becoming.

#art

all art news