Title Something Worth Watching
Artist / Creator James Allen
Place of Publication Portland, OR
Publication Date 2015
Structure / Binding Book excavation. Unsealed, unframed.
Dimensions (WxHxD) 4.125 x 6 x .5 inches.
Edition Size Unique
Signed & Numbered Signed by the artist

Something Worth Watching by James Allen

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Something Worth Watching is a Book Excavation created from a Golden Nature Guide, Insects published in 1955. As I cut through the pages, the wonderful hand-drawn color illustrations of various insects form a layered landscape of creatures and plants. It offers a glimpse into the many facets of the fascinating realm of insects. This book excavation is unframed, allowing the viewer to see each cut page and watch the progression of the imagery. Must see TV! Oregon Art Beat, a weekly arts program on Oregon Public Broadcasting, has a fascinating segment about James Allen and his book excavations. Great video showing the process behind his art, in an in-depth, accessible manner. Watch it here.

ABOUT BOOK EXCAVATIONS

A book excavation is a sculptural work of art made by transforming various types of old books using precise cuts with a scalpel or knife, carving pages one by one until an astonishing new composition reveals itself. This almost surgical focus of dissecting books results in a wholly new object infused with a graphical history that evolves as the artist exposes each layer of the book while cutting around interesting images or text. For most artists working in this remarkable medium, the process is performed without pre-planning or mapping out the contents before cutting into the books pages and/or covers. Finished book excavations often appear as cross sections of the book, carved to create an alternate universe previously hidden between the covers.

Artist Bio

James Allen was born in 1977 in Great Lakes, Illinois and currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon where he shows at 23 Sandy Gallery. In 2000 He earned a BFA from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Allen's artwork is included in Art Made From Books: Altered, Sculpted, Carved, Transformed published by Chronicle Books. In 2009 his work was exhibited at the Bellevue Arts Museum in The Book Borrowers: Contemporary Artists Transforming the Book. His Book Excavations are also in special collections libraries at UCLA, Ringling College of Art and Design, John's Hopkins University, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and University of Colorado Boulder.