Breathtaking Landscapes Carved Into Books

Fellow Canadian Guy Laramee was previously featured on the Sifter back in Jaunary. Laramee is an incredibly talented artist with a broad range of skills from painting and sculpting; to music, composition and stage direction. In his two latest series entitled Guan Yin and El amor por las montanas, Laramee’s remarkable landscape book is on full display. Represented by Galerie Lacerte, please enjoy this stunning collection below. An artist statement and biography can also be found amidst the gallery. Enjoy!       1.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       2.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       3.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       4.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       5.   Artwork by Guy Laramee     Guy Laramee – Arist Statement   The erosion of cultures – and of “culture” as a whole – is the theme that runs through the last 30 years of my artistic practice. Cultures emerge, become obsolete, and are replaced by new ones. With the vanishing of cultures, some people are displaced and destroyed. We are currently told that the paper book is bound to die. The library, as a place, is finished. One might ask so what? Do we really believe that “new technologies” will change anything concerning our existential dilemma, our human condition? And even if we could change the content of all the books on earth, would this change anything in relation to the domination of analytical knowledge over intuitive knowledge? What is it in ourselves that insists on grabbing, on casting the flow of experience into concepts? When I was younger, I was very upset with the ideologies of progress. I wanted to destroy them by showing that we are still primitives. I had the profound intuition that as a species, we had not evolved that much. Now I see that our belief in progress stems from our fascination with the content of consciousness. Despite appearances, our current obsession for changing the forms in which we access culture is but a manifestation of this fascination. My work, in 3D as well as in painting, originates from the very idea that ultimate knowledge could very well be an erosion instead of an accumulation. The title of one of my pieces is “ All Ideas Look Alike”. Contemporary art seems to have forgotten that there is an exterior to the intellect. I want to examine thinking, not only “what” we think, but “that” we think. So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint romantic landscapes. Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are. After 30 years of practice, the only thing I still wish my art to do is this: to project us into this thick “cloud of unknowing.” – Source: GuyLaramee.com       6.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       7.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       8.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       9.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       10.   Artwork by Guy Laramee     Guy Laramee – Biography   Guy Laramée is an interdisciplinary artist who, in the course of his 30 years of practice, found his way through numerous disciplines such as: stage writing, stage directing, contemporary music writing, musical instrument design and building, singing, video, scenography, sculpture, installation, painting and literature. He graduated the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He holds a Master degree in Visual Arts at l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and a Master degree in Anthropology at l’Université Concordia (Montréal). He founded the internally acclaimed music ensemble TUYO. He received more than 25 grants and was awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts the Joseph S. Stauffer award for musical composition. He worked with prestigious collaborators such as Robert Lepage (Québec), Volker Hesse (Zurich), Rachel Rosenthal (Los Angeles) and Larry Tremblay (Montreal). His work has been seen and heard across Canada, United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Latin America. Since 2000, the artist works almost exclusively in the field of visual arts. His ongoing BIBLIOS project, involving the carving of books and commenting on our obsessive pursuit of knowledge, has won him national and international acclaim (New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Québec). The artist has presented several group and solo exhibitions such as Le Nuage d’inconnaissance at la Biennale nationale de sculpture contemporaine (Trois-Rivières) in 2008, at the Toronto International Art Fair (Ontario) from 2007 – 2009 and at la Grande Bibliothèque for the opening exhibition in 2005. He will be presenting his sculptures in 2009 at the Bellevue Art Museum (Washington). His works can be found in the collections of Musée National des beaux-arts du Québec, Ex Machina (Quebec), Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, Loto-Québec, Allan Chasanoff (New York), and numerous private collections. – Source: Galerie Lacerte       11.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       12.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       13.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       14.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       15.   Artwork by Guy Laramee       See More from Guy Laramee at his Official Site!           If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter highly recommends:   Incredible Book Art by Brian Dettmer [30 pics]         Incredible Landscapes Carved Into Books

50 Creative Ways to Repurpose, Reuse and Upcycle Old Things Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:54 AM PDT   If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of old stuff just lying around your house. It’s not doing anything but taking up space, but you’re either too busy (or lazy), sentimental or just have more important things to deal with. Well if you’re looking for a little inspiration or a new DIY project, here are 50 creative ways to repurpose, reues and upcycle old things. There’s a pretty broad range in this list but hopefully a handful jump out and spark an idea for you and your home!     1. Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls to Organize Cables and Chords         2. Turn Old Credit Cards Into Guitar Picks         3. Create a Window Cover Using Old Picture Slides         4. Upcycle Old Light Bulbs Into Candles         5. Repurpose Old CD Holders Into Bagel Storage Device         6. Fill a Box With Skewers and it Becomes an All-Purpose Knife Block         7. Turn Old Picture Frames Into Serving Trays         8. Reuse Ketchup Bottles as a Pancake Squirter         9. Use Paperclips to Organize Your Cables         10. Turn Old Wrenches Into Wall Hooks         11. Repurpose an Old Suitcase Into a Medicine Cabinet         12. Use Your Old Computer Tower as a Mail Box         13. Use Marbles to Plug Holes in Fences         14. Reuse Old Kleenex Boxes as Bag Dispensers         15. Turn an Old Door Frame Into a Coffee Table         16. Turn Old Bulletin Boards into a Jewellery Organizer         17. Use Post-It Notes as a Collector when Drilling         18. Repurpose a Card Catalogue Into a Mini Bar         19. Use Old Lego Pieces As a Key Holder         20. Upcycle a Shopping Cart Into a Rolling Chair         21. Turn Old Suitcases Into Side Tables         22. Upcycle Old Mugs, Bottles and Bowls Into Light Fixtures         23. Use Lifesavers as Candle Holders on Cakes         24. Use a Paper Clip as a Key Chain and Money Clip         25. Use a Pipe with Valves as a Coat Rack         26. Use Old Books as Shelves         27. Reuse Old Cassette Tape Cases as Gift Card Boxes         28. Use Old CD Cases to Store and Organize Cables         29. Turn an Old Bike Into a Bathroom Counter         30. Turn an Old Mini Fridge Into a TV Stand and Storage Unit         31. Turn Old Utensils Into Wall Hooks         32. Turn an Old Wine Box Into a Shoe Rack         33. Use Shower Hooks in Your Closet as Bag Holders         34. Turn Old Suitcases Into Accordion Folders         35. Turn Old Tennis Rackets Into Mirrors         36. Use Old Picture Frame Corners Like Tiles         37. Turn an Old Door Into a Frame for a Standing Mirror         38. Use an Old Paper Tower Holder as a Ribbon Holder         39. Turn An Old Bathtub Into a Love Seat         40. Use Frisbees To Reinforce Disposable Plates         41. Repurpose Old Barrels Into a Drum Set         42. Use Cupcake Wrappers to Prevent Posicles from Dripping         43. Use An Old Hanging Shoe Rack to Organize Your Pantry         44. Make a Chair from Old Waterskis         45. Use Old Books to Create a Desk         46. Turn a Six Pack Into a Condiment Carrier         47. Transform a Chair into a Towel Rack and Shelf         48. Use A Cupcake Tray as a Jewellery Organizer         49. Use Mason Jars to Carry Your Salad         50. Turn an Old Piano Into an Outdoor Water Fountain             If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter highly recommends:   50 Creative MacBook Decals and Stickers         25 Funny and Creative Facebook Timeline Covers         Adding Monsters to Thrift Store Paintings

Picture of the Day: Old Piano Turned Into Outdoor Fountain Posted: 11 Jun 2012 02:52 PM PDT   OLD PIANO TURNED INTO OUTDOOR FOUNTAIN   Photograph via hankypinky on Reddit   Rather then let this old grand piano go to waste, a creative soul has repurposed this beautiful instrument into an outdoor water fountain. A reverse image search on Google and Tineye did not reveal an original source so details are sparse on this piece. We can only assume preventative measures have been taking to preserve the wood to avoid rot and algae growth. Now some piano lovers may be slightly miffed by the ‘desecration’ of an instrument. We can only hope that this piano was beyond restoration and wasn’t able to be played again. If you know more about this piece, please let us know in the comments below!     via hankypinky on Reddit         SEE MORE ‘PICTURES OF THE DAY’