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30 Stunning Landscapes That This Artist Created By Carving And Painting Old Books
If you ever find yourself hoarding old books, this artist might give you an idea of how to transform them into unique artwork.
Artist Guy Laramee creates amazing miniature book landscapes out of old books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. His series entitled The Great Wall and Biblios represent the degradation of human culture and show glacial landscapes, deep valleys, and plateaus.
"So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes," says the artist on his website. "Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are."
More info: guylaramee.com | Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
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TrippyBanana 2 years ago (edited)
This is beautiful! I'm having to tell my panicked brain that it's okay, and that these books were destroyed for a good purpose. I hate seeing books torn up. But I am curious about what the books contained.
Guy Laramée, an interdisciplinary artist from Canada, has been practicing for 30 years and has demonstrated his talents in a wide range of disciplines, including theater writing and directing, contemporary music composition, musical instrument design and building, singing, video, scenography, sculpture, installation, painting, and literature. He has been honored with over 30 arts grants and was awarded the prestigious Joseph S. Stauffer award for musical composition by the Canada Council. His artwork has been showcased in various countries, including the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and Latin America.
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Shelly Graham 2 years ago
I'm probably going to stir up a wasp nest, but while these are incredibly beautiful I feel sad at the loss of the book. So many older Britannica Encyclopedias, along with other colloquial books from my childhood are being destroyed in the name of art! This makes me very sad!
LuLuBelle 2 years ago
It's not like there's a shortage of old encyclopedias. It's better than their being tossed out, which is what happens to most of them. Not every old book is sacred. There are lot of old books with beautiful bindings that are simply awful unreadable drivel, and it looks to me like those are the kinds this artist is using.
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The theme of the erosion of cultures and the concept of "culture" as a whole has been a central focus of the artist's practice over the past 25 years. Through this lens, the artist has observed how cultures arise, become outdated, and are supplanted by new ones, with the disappearance of cultures often resulting in displacement and destruction for some individuals.
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The artist has also considered the impact of modern technology on our society, including the perceived demise of physical books and libraries, and questioned whether these changes will ultimately have any significant effect on our human condition or existential dilemma. Ultimately, the artist has questioned the domination of analytical knowledge over intuitive knowledge, and reflected on why human beings feel compelled to translate their experiences into abstract concepts.
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And lastly, here is what Laramée wrote on his website: “After 30 years of practice, the only thing I still wish my art to do is this: to project us into this thick ‘cloud of unknowing.’”If you are interested in this very talented and versatile artist, feel free to visit his website for more.
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Foster/White Gallery 2 years ago
It is even better in person! Come see it at the gallery: https://fosterwhite.com/collections/guy-laramee
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Julio Siqueira 2 years ago
Amazing coincidnce. Just yesterday I was working on a computer 3D model of this very mountain on my computer. This (the left one) is known by the name Dedo de Deus (God"s Finger), a 1.700 meter-high mountain in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (cities Guapimirim and Teresopolis). It is stunningly well portrayed above. My deepest congratulations to this artist.
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Adam Hollingsworth 2 years ago
With a Dremel, a dentists drill, or other similarly sized high-speed rotary tool for the shape, and an airbrush for the colors, would be my guess...
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TrippyBanana 2 years ago
The unabridged version of a dictionary from. The 20th century. I'd be interested how many of those words are now extinct.
M J 2 years ago
None, as long as the readers of earlier written materials continue.
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Nonesuch 2 years ago
There must be a zillion of those old tomes out there
Load More Replies... Dana Bryant 2 years ago
See, it's just there! Over that mountain... no more than a day's journey!
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TrippyBanana 2 years ago
Thats a beautiful zen garden. Wonder if it's Mandarin or Japanese writing.
Red Lotus 2 years ago (edited)
If you zoom in, you'll see that it's Japanese :)
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Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
This is a condensed OED. There's a magnifying glass in the drawer so you can read the tiny print. (My parents had one, which I inherited.)
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Allan Hart 2 years ago
The green stuff is not of book origin. Says paint and books is all is used
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What do you think ?
Faeth Webb 2 years ago (edited)
I'm really impressed to see mostly positive comments on these entries. Usually any articles about books made into decorations are flooded with people clamoring over each other to say how "horrified" they are to see books "ruined" because they're "extremely avid readers" and just could NEVER. These are cool art pieces made from books with thousands upon thousands of copies. Nothing was destroyed. Nothing was lost. It is okay to make books into something else. Cool art, creators!
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I'm a book lover. I worked almost my entire life as an bookseller and editor. My collection of books includes many valuable first editions, some of them over 200 years old. And I completely concur. These are marvelous artistic creations sculpted from books that would otherwise been pulped.
Patricia Smith 2 years ago
I never approve of desecration of books. It brings up memories of Hitler's book burnings.
Aleksi Esko 2 years ago
You dont have memories of hitlers book burning. Just appreciate the art.. its not like there isnt a 100000 copies of these books
Load More Replies... sherry powers 2 years ago
I've never understood the art of destroying old books. Don't get me wrong, the work was beautiful, but use newer books where there are thousands of copies, don't destroy old ones. They're legendary.
Kristy Nelson 2 years ago
I'm so torn between being sad about the destruction of these beautiful books, and the history of them, and yet the art is also beautiful and impressive. Maybe not using real books would give the same feeling?
Faeth Webb 2 years ago (edited)
I'm really impressed to see mostly positive comments on these entries. Usually any articles about books made into decorations are flooded with people clamoring over each other to say how "horrified" they are to see books "ruined" because they're "extremely avid readers" and just could NEVER. These are cool art pieces made from books with thousands upon thousands of copies. Nothing was destroyed. Nothing was lost. It is okay to make books into something else. Cool art, creators!
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I'm a book lover. I worked almost my entire life as an bookseller and editor. My collection of books includes many valuable first editions, some of them over 200 years old. And I completely concur. These are marvelous artistic creations sculpted from books that would otherwise been pulped.
Patricia Smith 2 years ago
I never approve of desecration of books. It brings up memories of Hitler's book burnings.
Aleksi Esko 2 years ago
You dont have memories of hitlers book burning. Just appreciate the art.. its not like there isnt a 100000 copies of these books
Load More Replies... sherry powers 2 years ago
I've never understood the art of destroying old books. Don't get me wrong, the work was beautiful, but use newer books where there are thousands of copies, don't destroy old ones. They're legendary.
Kristy Nelson 2 years ago
I'm so torn between being sad about the destruction of these beautiful books, and the history of them, and yet the art is also beautiful and impressive. Maybe not using real books would give the same feeling?
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