The Book Art of Cara Barer

Texas based photographer Cara Barer uses old phone books, computer manuals, maps, and comic books to create hypnotic sculptures, which she then photographs.

Cara Barer‘s inspiration came when she saw a rain-soaked Yellow Pages lying on the ground. She photographed its intricately bent pages and soon began the search for more books, and more methods to change their appearance. She realized she owned many books that were no longer of use to her or to anyone else. She soaked the manual for “Windows 95” in the bathtub for a few hours, and gave it a new shape and purpose. Half Price Books became a regular haunt, and once an abandoned house gave her a set of outdated reference books, complete with mold and neglect.

Barer seems to have no problem acquiring large reference books. “Half a century ago, students researched at home with the family set of encyclopedias, or took a trip to the library to find needed information. Now, owning a computer, and connecting to the internet gives a student the ability to complete a research paper without ever going near a library”, she said. “I fear that it is rapidly leading us to rely less and less on the reference books common in the last two centuries.”

“With the discarded books that I have acquired, I am attempting to blur the line between objects, sculpture, and photography. This project has become a journey that continues to evolve.”