Dettmer at the MOCA GA

On my lunch hour last week I drove over to see Brian Dettmer's art exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in Atlanta. I am always interested in new ways to re-purpose used books (beyond reading them). I had my first taste of Dettmer's work at New Worlds to Conquer exhibit at Saltworks Gallery last year. This new exhibit, which contains fifteen pieces, shares some of the similarities in the New Worlds pieces in the way Dettmer carves up older illustrated books to reveal new meanings about the subject manner and richness that the printed word provides.

What I enjoyed about Dettmer's current exhibit of works that he completed this year is the variety. Yes, he has the “standard” carved out illustrated encyclopedias like the volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica shown here in Tower 1 (shown at the left , but he also has added some new interpretations. An entire wall is devoted to Altered States, where Dettmer has cut up and reassembled 50 pages of the 50 state flags, framed them, and placed them in the shape of the United States map. There is also a huge print entitled Chaos where Dettmer shows how the word, “Chaos” is visually linked to other words. Then there is Emergency Exit, which is a fire door made of partially charred paperback books. In One Word at a Time, (shown at the top), a series of paperback books are glued together.

I am not even going to pretend that I can interpret the works as art or adequately describe them, but I would encourage those of you (and I know you are out there) that appreciate the possibilities of the printed word to check out the Dettmer's exhibition, which is at the MOCA between now and January 5, 2013. The gallery is located in an enclave of antique stores in the Tula Art Center complex, so you can make an afternoon of it, instead of just taking a longer lunch hour.

Note: Images courtesy of Brian Dettmer.

Comments

[Wallace]

I am a fan of Brian's work and have used an image of one of his works on a catalog cover. Here is a link you may enjoy exploring concerning books as art.

http://www.designboom.com/art/built-of-books-by-frank-halmans/