Reimagining Books

Dettmer works with the tools of a surgeon — scalpels and tweezers — to carve patterns, messages, and meaning from books. He says, “The title Elemental emerged as a reference both to early education and to the idea that images and concepts break down to their basic elements within my work. This happens in a quite literal way as I sculpt away fully formed stories and ideas from books into smaller fragments of image and text. These individual elements within the work can then be considered for their individual meanings, or they can take on different significance within a new visual context. Like molecules, the isolated images and ideas have the potential to become part of any number of new forms.” (You can read the full interview here)

His work will be on display at Haverford College’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery from Oct. 25 through Dec. 15. The artist will give a gallery talk Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. A reception for his show’s opening will follow from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Gallery. As part of his Mellon Creative Residency, Dettmer will also be part of a roundtable conversation, “Book, Text, Mediation,” with other scholars and artists in the Gallery on Nov. 11, 2013, from 4:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.