Birds & Cars 33

The two books, Funk and Wagnalls encyclopedia set, Volume 33 & 32 circa 1948, were glued together open-faced. I began working through the front and rear of volume 33, where I exposed the only color, birds. The entire piece took on an interesting perspective with such a variety of images.

There are small, subtlely exposed images showing Egyptian artifacts, war, flora and fauna, and many other images for the observer to discover.

Artist Statement
Shane uses aged reference books deemed useless, like medical guides, journals, and encyclopedias, to bring new life to books that would otherwise be discarded. Glue seals the pages in their original printed location decided by the publisher, leaving the page revelations to the artist's imagination. Layers are removed to reveal images randomly. With no plan, the artist simply finds an exciting image, carves around the photo, diagram, or drawing, and adds cut lines, insets, and other random elements to provide an artistic view into the past, the book, and the pages as intended by the printer. Exposing the images in their original form, location, and placement on the page gives the viewer a greater appreciation of printed material from the Gilded Age when print media was mass-produced and information became readily available before today's digital format. Each page is carved delicately with stainless steel hardened medical scalpels to create a three-dimensional effect.

Shane uses old discarded printed material to bring new life to an item usually destined for the trash bin, landfill, or growing mold in some attack or basement.