Brian Dettmer at TEDYouth 2014
Nov 15, 2014

Participants pose for picture in audience.

YI Leaders at the TEDYouth 2014 conference, November 2014. Photograph by Jamie Rosenfeld

Participants pose for picture in audience.

On November 15, YI Leaders Anna, Andrea, Jejomar, Janice, and I (Nicholas) went on an expedition to attend TEDYouth 2014 at the Brooklyn Museum. We were warmly welcomed by the staff with beautiful smiles, ready to give out our amazingly designed name tags. We then proceeded to the auditorium which was almost fully seated but we managed to get ourselves a spot.

Artist talking to audience.

Artist Brian Dettmer presenting at the TEDYouth 2014 conference, November 2014. Photograph by Jamie Rosenfeld

Artist talking to audience.

I had a rough idea of what was going to happen after reading a brief description about him, but I wasn’t sure if TEDYouth speaker Brian Dettmer ‘dug’ into books figuratively or literally. I was expecting the former. He then came on the stage and said that he’s an artist who sculpts books. I could hear people muttering, but as Dettmer showed his works on the screen, it stopped. I could’ve heard a pin drop in the auditorium.

Dettmer describes his process of sculpting books as a discovery. He begins by flipping through the book to get a sense of the images and the text; however, once he seals its edges, and begins cutting away with his x-acto knife, he does not know what will come out of it. He sees books as being vessels of unearthed potential and that as an artist he collaborates with these books to create sculptures.

Check out some of Brian Dettmer’s work.

  • Brian Dettmer, Macmillan, 2011.

    Brian Dettmer, Macmillan, 2011. Hardcover book, acrylic varnish, 11-1/8 x 9-1/2 x 2-1/8 in. Image courtesy of the Artist and Toomey Tourell Fine Art

  • Brian Dettmer, Tower 1 (Britannica), 2012.

    Brian Dettmer, Tower 1 (Britannica), 2012. Hardcover books, acrylic varnish, pedestal, 89-1/2 x 15 x 15 in.

  • Brian Dettmer, The Brain, 2011.

    Brian Dettmer, The Brain, 2011. Hardcover book, acrylic varnish, 8-5/8 x 7-1/4 x 1-3/4 in. Image courtesy of the Artist and Packer Schopf

  • Brian Dettmer, American Peoples, 2011.

    Brian Dettmer, American Peoples, 2011. Altered Books, 61 x 39 x 14 in. (154 x 100 x 34 cm). Image courtesy of the Artist and Toomey Tourell Fine Art

  • Brian Dettmer Totem 2010 Altered Set of Vintage Encyclopedias, 2010.

    Brian Dettmer Totem 2010 Altered Set of Vintage Encyclopedias, 2010. 26-5/8 x 22-1/2 x 10-1/4 in. Image courtesy of the Artist and MiTO Gallery

  • Brian Dettmer A History of Europe 2010 Altered Book, 2010.

    Brian Dettmer A History of Europe 2010 Altered Book, 2010. 9-1/4 x 6-1/2 x 1-3/4 in. Image courtesy of the Artist and MiTO Gallery

  • Brian Dettmer, Wagnalls Wheel 2010 Altered Set of Vintage Encyclopedias, 2010.

    Brian Dettmer, Wagnalls Wheel 2010 Altered Set of Vintage Encyclopedias, 2010. 9 x 20-1/2 x 20-1/2 in. Image courtesy of the Artist and Toomey Tourell Fine Art

After his presentation, he received the loudest applause from the audience.

By Nicholas, YI Leader