Today we have two people who use other peoples published creations as their canvases. Brian Dettmer produces his exceptional work by allowing the content within the books to suggest forms. The books themselves become sculptural objects and their content is revealed poetically by the artist. This reminds me of Robert Rauschenberg’s Erased De Kooning Drawing - the conceptual piece in which he did exactly what the title suggested… He bought and erased a De Kooning drawing. In the case of Dettmer and Russel (who you’ll see in a moment), they are not erasing the work of others, but rather extracting new layers of meaning and representation - previously unseen. All photos of Dettmer’s works from the Haydee Rovirosa Gallery

Georgia Russel has what seems to be a similar initial process in which she modifies a chosen printed source. These she slices up into delicate explosions of fine paper ribs. I prefer the modified flat images more than her books. All photos from the England and Co Gallery.