Art of papercut and book carving
There are some interesting facts about the art of carved book, which you probably didn’t know. First of all, the artfully carved book has a name – altered book. It is a form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its appearance and meaning. Talented artists use old or new, recycled or multiple books, then cut, tear, glue, burn, fold, paint, rebind, gold-leaf, creating incredible art, sometimes even masterpieces.

Altered books – shown and sold in art galleries and on the Internet. For example, an exhibition of altered books by contemporary artists, shown at the Bellevue Arts Museum in 2009, titled The Book Borrowers. In particular, it contained 31 works, books transformed into sculptural works. Also, The John Michael Kohler Arts Center hosted an exhibition of altered books in early 2010.

According to belief, paper art appeared in Japan over a thousand years ago. However, some simple logic says, that it was China, the country which invented paper itself. Gradually, from simple forms of paper art craftsmen went futher creatine more intricate works of art, and in particular, book carving.

Art of papercut and book carving