Artist Turns Discarded Books Into Beautiful Works Of Art By Crystalizing Them

    The San Francisco artist Alexis Arnold created a series of crystallized books as a commentary on materiality and text.

    1. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

    Arnold explains that "The Crystallized Book Series was prompted by repeatedly finding boxes of discarded books, by the onset of e-books, and by the recent disappearance of bookstores. Furthermore, I had been growing crystals on hard objects and was interested in seeing the effect of the crystal growth on malleable and absorbent objects. Conceptually, the series addresses the materiality of the book versus the text or content of the book. The crystals remove the text and transform the books into aesthetic, non-functional objects. The books, now frozen with heavy crystal growth, have become artifacts or geologic specimens imbued with the history of time, use, and nostalgia."

    2. Snow

    3. Post Mortem

    There are many household chemicals that can be used to grow crystals. Arnold used Twenty Mule Team Borax and created a super saturated solution in boiling water. She then soaked the books in the solution and manipulated them to her liking. The solution then cools and the crystals grow and the books take on their form

    4. Crime And Punishment

    5. The Complete Book of Houseplants

    Depending on atmospheric conditions, the crystals will turn from translucent to opaque. This transition can take years or be made to happen quickly.

    6. Cookbook

    7. Catcher In The Rye

    8. The Singing Tree

    9. Alchemist's Handbook

    10. Encyclopedia Of Superstitions

    11. This Is Water

    12. Chemistry: An Experimental Science

    13. World Book 1978

    14. Dictionary Nautilus