Book Altering: Is it offensive?
 

Book altering is a form of art that involves creating art out of books. For all of you book readers, does the thought of cutting up, painting, drawing in, glueing, or sculpting things out of books mortify you?

Personally, I love book altering. I only alter old, outdated books that people probably wouldn't care about if I transformed it into a work of art that they can appreciate. I have only altered one very old geography book, but man it was really fun. I have started on another outdated Careers book but this one is going to be way different than the first.

What do you think book lovers? Do you think book altering is alright, or should all books be treated with care?

edit; Here is my first altered book that I made out of the old Geography book. It is a bookbox, but it's not used for that. It is instead used for decoration. I added a few things like a button for the eye on the cover, some ribbon, and a little key surrounded by cute jewel beads hanging from fishing line. The key is hanging from a string. This is a simple altered book and there are many different forms. I will post more examples as I finish them, or even WIPs if anyone is interested~

I used to work in a bookstore and I know that, paperbacks at least, we threw away by the HUNDREDS. So I'm not opposed to making art out of them, I'd actually love to see some of it ^^

I don't see why it would be a problem, as long as it isn't some rare, antique book. For stuff that's easily replaced and widely available, it seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I might object if one took a very old and very valuable manuscript to do it, but on the whole, nah. I like to make things myself and book art, while not something I've done, is something I've thought about. I've seem some lovely greeting cards made from book excerpts and stamps, among other things. I certainly wouldn't call it offensive either, unless the author of the book in question happened to have a particular gripe with it. It's the same thing when one cuts out and glues the pages to make a book-box.

Che, I have issues with cutting anything out of anything....even mags and newspapers and stuff.

But it's more of a perfectionist sort of issue.

"Personally, I love book altering. I only alter old, outdated books that people probably wouldn't care about if I transformed it into a work of art that they can appreciate."

After this you said geography book + Careers book so I'm okay with that.

But the way that first sounded made me twitch inside. I love book and the thought of cutting them up bothers me. But Outdated school type books is okay with me, or rather, more okay then if it was some really old book that might have some hidden value.

Do you have a picture of what you made the geography book into?

Me, I'd rather see this done with a book that's still in print -- old books, even old outdated textbooks, sometimes have value, even if it doesn't seem like it. With a book still in print, you can always replace it.

I think that would be wonderful, especially if we did it will all of America's Tax codes. Turn something horrible into something beautiful.

I would be inclined to do it more with art and poety books or novels rather than number stuff, depending on the project. I would like working with the passages and text themselves, though if we're talking only a word or two here and there, then I guess the book doesn't really matter. I would definately feel better about it if it was a trashed copy to begin with, or I had another.

Certain old books, like old dictionaries or old anthologies I would be hesitant to mess with because they can contain stuff that is no longer around. I keep many of our outdated dictionaries becaue they often contain words that current dictionairies no longer have. The same goes for early volume lit or poetry anthologies, which contain different poems than the new ones, often by the same author. It gives a greater view of the work, in my opinion.

When I first saw the title I thought of the re-wording books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that's to me is offensive.

But when I read the first post I got it and I think it's unique as long as it's not a rare antique books that cost a million dollars or library books unless you found it in the garbage (I've seen good books in the trash) or you bought it from the library; old textbooks I can handle cause to me no one is going to use it.

Textbooks I'd rather send to a used book store or donate to a charity since they are useful for people who can't afford them for school or don't otherwise have access.

And yea, abridging or rewording books bothers me too. I can understand when I see it done for English as a second language studies, but overall I think a book should remain intact as much as possible since it's the writing and not just the story that makes a manuscript what it is.

I never heard of book altering before, but it sounds pretty cool in using things from a book to make it into something new. And I agree with the majority here, as long as the book is not valuable, then should be okay to use it to make art, etc.

LOL my best friend and I have a rule, she's allowed to collage anything I've already got a copy of. This mostly has to do with comics(american), but ties over to books, manga or magazines as well. I've got some lovely things she made this way and I love it!

I assure everyone that I check a book's value before I start altering it ^^ That old Geography book was from the 90's and I looked it up on eBay, while the Career Encyclopedias are from 2006 and are now outdated according to my school's librarian. I think it's because of the current downfall of the economy and those careers are either less in demand, more in demand, have different wages, etc.

I agree about altering old poetry books. I would love to do that, but I am having a hard time finding one that I would be able to cut up. I don't think I have the heart to cut up poetry, but I would love to make a bookbox out of a poetry or art book.

I had no clue what this was about... even with the description in the OP...

So I google image'd it... and it scares me ._____.

I mean its beautiful and creative and probably takes a lot of time.. and i dont see the harm as long as there's more than one or a few of it.. but.. its sooo creepy..

like a cavern.. or a hell hole.. in a book .__.

But who in the 1930s would have ever imagined that the children's books they learned to read from would end up being priceless treasures of history?

Hmm.. That's a good question Coda xD

Also, there is a place that holds a copy of every single book ever published in the U.S., just in case ^^

I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. I know I personally wouldn't want somebody to tear up a book that I wrote for arts and crafts, yet I think it could be flattering to turn the art of literature into another kind of art.

Damn my Libra instincts! D8

I'm a Libra too! -high five-

-high fives- Hell yeah! >8D

You were born on September 28th, though. I was born on the 30th. c:

Drats! But our birthdays are still two days apart. That's not too far off xD

I think it's really cool. I mean so long as it's not a RARE book like Oh say, the first edition of Scarlet Letter like the one sitting on my bookshelf. I'd never be able to do that to it lol, but it's amazing some of the things people have turned books into.

Here's a question, They say it's wrong to mess with any kind of "holy book" but what if you wanted to take a copy of the bible and turn it into a religious form of art?

Does it make me 'sacrilegious' if I want to try it?

Technically, religious art of any kind is condemned in the Book of Deuteronomy, so, for the Judeo-Christian tradition, the answer to that is yes. However, seeing as religious art is widely embraced (and has been for centuries, if not millennia) the question isn't quite that clear-cut.

It would likely depend on the individual. Odds are, you'd offend someone. :p

lol that's what I'm afraid of. don't want to end up killed via some extremist like others have.

Last semester for my creative writing class I wrote a parody play about an atheist who died and found out he was wrong and ended up in a conversation with God. My parents were really worried I was going to end up offending someone and getting hurt or killed.

Luckily, my class got the joke and no one flipped out.

It's a sin to create art out of anything holy or of holy value, but worshippers do it anyway? This is why I don't follow anything. You don't know what's true or who's trying to pull your tail to get you to donate money to their churches so they can go on vacations and such.

To my understanding, any sort of depiction of God is a sin (I think quite a severe one, but I can't recall what it's no-doubt horrific punishment is). This is something that the church has kind of ignored all its life. I think part of the split between the Eastern Orthodoxy and the Vatican was over the status of icons, and there was a great iconoclasm after they broke away. Don't quote me on that, though.

As to your other point, I'm of the opinion that even if there was a supreme entity, it wouldn't care one way or another for institutionalized religion. Such institutions have a tendency to become very earthly over time (if not in their inception). You have to wonder, at what point do those grand cathedrals with their glorious architecture and inspiring paintings become less for God's glory and more for the executive elite ecclesiarchy who commissioned them?

That's a very interesting way to look at it. I never thought about that..

I just find the "organized" part of organized religion pretty contrary to the whole "spiritual enlightenment" thing. But, I'm an atheist, what do I know?

And you thread's off-topic now. Sorry.

I for one very much approve of book-altering holy texts. From my perspective, while they have no place in government or law, they carry a sort of thematic antiquity to them that adds something metaphysical to art, even if the art is wholly secular. The whole reason religion's stuck around so long is because it appeals to our sense of grandeur, and where better to put that to use than it art?

Hopefully that made sense.

It doesn't bother me unless it's an antique first edition. I have a thing for antiques and I think I would be really upset if someone destroyed a first edition like that.

As long as it's not a precious book I wouldn't mind people can make beautiful things out of old books most people don't care about as long as there are plenty more where that book came from and your not destroying the last of it's kind.