It’s happening already. Books are not yet extinct, but creative folks are developing new uses for these soon to be relics of another culture.
From Rebound Designs, I recently purchased a “book purse” for my niece made from a slightly worn hardback copy of Emma. (I was momentarily tempted by the bright orange copy of The Chicago Manual of Style, but thought my niece would be less than enthusiastic. )
For do-it-yourselfers, Lisa Occhipinti offers step-by-step instructions for “33 craft projects that give old books new life” in her book The Repurposed Library.
Book destruction is not limited to the etsy crowd , “serious” artists are using books as canvas too. Artist Kylie Stillman as seen in a recent ArtStormer post creates book sculptures from stacked books.
Books torn asunder to make decorative objects is still a bit creepy to a book lover such as myself , but the sheer creativity of the repurposing is intriguing.
What do you think? Is this a travesty or are you already reaching for your glue gun and that stack of old books ?
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I don’t think it’s a travesty at all! It makes us “feel” the special quality of books, appreciate the way they feed the soul. LOVE the book purse – it’s so you, Elizabeth! One of my favorite artist exhibitions ever was Buzz Specter at the Chicago Modern Art Museum way back in the 80’s when I was in college. It was a stack of hardbacks with plaster poured all over it, a really fascinating sculpture. Even though we weren’t yet in the digital age of books, you felt the pang of loss of the art form, as paperbacks and the mass media were taking over everything already. Books are beautiful in and of themselves, and reading them slows us down to a more civilized life…..