Ira - The Art of Destruction

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

"Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are."
- Guy Larameé

In my attempt to find out who the 21st master artists are, I stumbled upon an artist named Guy Larameé, a Montreal-based artist who uses a sandblaster to carve on books.

I was surprised to see that his views on progress and knowledge are almost the same - that the way we perceive our progress is defined by our fascination on consciousness, that we are, infact, have not greatly evolved into greater being, but less of a being. We always seek to find out what's beyond the unknown, the journey to attain ultimate knowledge. That through accumulation, we are encouraging erosion, erosion of the truths of what we really are.

We begin to establish walls of what should be, of the things appropriate and are not. We put ourselves in categories only to fulfill our thirst to be greater than others. We create walls to protect us not from danger, but from the truth, that we are nothing compared to vastness of the world.



We label things as acceptable, but the underlying fact is that, we are harboring destruction, anger, wrath - ira. Ira is pretty much what entails Larameé's art, that "mountains of deserted knowledge, of disused books, should be restored back to what they really are: mountains".


I was struck by his statement on erosion, "Mountains erode and become hills, then they flatten and become fields, where nothing happens - where encyclopedias erode to which that does not need say anything, that which simply is." Our mountains of fascination will soon flatten into fields of nothingness, by then, we don't have to say what we are, we'll simply be what we are. Nothing more, nothing less.

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31 comments

  1. These are amazing book carvings. They are very impressive. I am impressed!

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  2. His artworks looks really amazing. He has also deep insights about everything.

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  3. I haven't encountered anyone who uses a sandblaster before. These works are truly great masterpieces of art. The statement on erosion is so deep that I might need an interpreter to help explain it. :)

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  4. What an art!?! This is my first time to see old books turn into a wonderful art work. So impressive!

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  5. THis is very interesting and so creative!

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  6. wow! amazing work of art,actually its the first time I saw this

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  7. I just hope those books were obsolete before carving .. but seeing the product of his artistry, this is really something to look up to...

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    1. He uses abandoned books and turn them into these artworks. :D

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  8. These are some beautiful art work. I'm an art lover and these all look great =)

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  9. I am always amazed when someone finds a new way to create. Having people in the world who can be this creative and think out of the box is our incredible good fortune.

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  10. Excellent tangible art anchored on a deep philosophy. Artists.. sigh. The world needs more of them.

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  11. wow, first time seeing an artpiece made from books, much less to speak of using sandblaster! did he only use sandblaster for everything? i can't imagine how he can create those intrigue details with a sandblaster though...

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    1. Guy Laramee must have spent a lot of time sandblasting his way through these books to get this kind of art. I think he used sandblaster and paint on some works with color on it.

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  12. Oh my, such amazing carvings! I do wish he would do them on something else and not destroy books!

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    1. He's giving life to abandoned books. This is better than leaving them to rot.

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  13. Thanks for sharing these it was very helpful and maybe someday you will be a geologist. Lol!

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  14. Unique work of art but I worry about the books. Like art, written works are valuable, too.

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    Replies
    1. The artist's argument fits the work he makes on these books.

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  15. The last one was amazing... Books look like they are moulding and eroding. The whole concept of nature cycle was impressive.

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  16. omg these are beautiful artworks! First time seeing these :D

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  17. Nice art work. Thanks for sharing such gorgeous masterpiece.

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  18. Wow. Those are really a masterpiece. I remember someone made a Smaug same as this.

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  19. I guess that this guy, Guy Laramee, is a born artist. Learning that he has worked as a stage writer, director, composer, a fabricator of musical instruments and then a creator of all these interesting arts make him deserve all praises.

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  20. I'm really amazed how art have revolved from just rock drawing to these kind. Who would have thought of this? I wonder where they get their inspirations from. :)

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    1. Guy Laramee already had a different perception about knowledge and progress way before he started making these. He's simply transforming this view/perception into tangible art that people will recognize.

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  21. Sometime, destruction gives an amazing view too. Like the one you shared. It is amazing.

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  22. I just loved it!! Thanks for sharing it !!

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  23. A very thorough post on life and the way we interpret it. A great observation on human behavior and internal quests. Masterpieces, indeed.

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  24. The artwork and the photographs are stellar. I love abstract art because you can make of it whatever you want.

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  25. As a book lover, I'm really concerned with where he gets the books, please don't tell me these are antique and hold valuable info! On the flipside, I love his creations even when they come from the destruction of these books.

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  26. I would agree on having walls and prejudices. People usually judge people and label them according to their perception (most of the time), not on what people really are. The real sure description to all though, real and true to all is, we are "human beings".

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