Brian Dettmer makes a living with the knife, tweezers and surgical tools by performing minute but precise incisions into books. ‘The Book Surgeon’ is a nickname he acquired due to the nature of his works of art: amazing book sculptures.

Unlike other artists that use fiction books to create their works, he only uses predominantly old encyclopedias, history books and medical books that would otherwise be thrown away. It might look like mutilated texts, but some people appreciate them so much that his works of art sell for thousand of dollars. He likes to suggest the idea that information is being lost when actually, he only tries to emphasize on the books’ content by eliminating the nearby words and phrases and transforming them into visual representations. This is what Brian says about creating his art:

It’s really like reading; I don’t know what’s coming on the next page.

Photos by Brian Dettmer via Kinz- Tillou Fine Art

Don’t judge books by their cover, but by their content. And sometimes, even the content can do with a bit of plastic surgery. If turning pages is a reflex, with these books, nothing is predictable. It doesn’t actually matter if you start at the end or in the middle, you’ll still be able to grasp the concept.