ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Brian Dettmer -
Artist Brian Dettmer digs into a good book (literally, with a knife) to create beautifully intricate forms that reflect how we see old information in a modern world.

Why you should listen
New York–based artist Brian Dettmer carves intricate sculptures from outdated materials like encyclopedias, textbooks, maps and cassette tapes. To create his works Dettmer seals the object with varnish, then swiftly and deftly moves through it with an X-Acto knife until he comes out the other side, cutting away material to form something new. His beautiful carvings reflect how, in a digital information landscape, even the oldest forms of knowledge can be repurposed.
More profile about the speaker
Brian Dettmer | Speaker | TED.com
TEDYouth 2014

Brian Dettmer: Old books reborn as art

布莱恩•德特门: 旧书重生为精致的艺术品

Filmed:
1,270,401 views

在这个信息时代,你会拿一本过时的百科全书做些什么?艺术家布莱恩•德特门手握着一把美工刀,并拥有一双翻新旧书的独到眼光,他将旧书制作成精致且出人意料的雕塑,让旧书重新焕发生机。
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Artist Brian Dettmer digs into a good book (literally, with a knife) to create beautifully intricate forms that reflect how we see old information in a modern world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm an artist艺术家 and I cut books图书.
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我是个艺术家,而我剪书。
00:14
This is one of my first book works作品.
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这是我首批作品之一,
00:16
It's called "Alternate备用
Route路线 to Knowledge知识."
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名为“通往知识的另一条路”。
00:18
I wanted to create创建 a stack of books图书 so
that somebody could come into the gallery画廊
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我想创造一堆书,
让人能在来展览馆看这堆书时,
00:22
and think they're just looking
at a regular定期 stack of books图书,
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认为他们只是一堆普通的书。
00:24
but then as they got closer接近 they would
see this rough hole carved into it,
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但是当他们走进时,
他们会看到中间这个的洞,
00:28
and wonder奇迹 what was happening事件,
wonder奇迹 why,
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开始猜想发生了什么事,
为什么会这样,
00:30
and think about the material材料 of the book.
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并思考书是由什么材料做成的。
00:32
So I'm interested有兴趣 in the texture质地,
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我对质地很感兴趣,
00:34
but I'm more interested有兴趣 in the text文本
and the images图片 that we find within books图书.
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但我对书中的文字和图像更加感兴趣。
00:39
In most of my work, what I do is I seal密封
the edges边缘 of a book with a thick varnish
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在我的大部分作品中,
我把书的边角用厚重的油漆封起来,
00:43
so it's creating创建 sort分类 of a skin皮肤
on the outside of the book
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在书外表制造出类似皮层的东西,
00:46
so it becomes a solid固体 material材料,
but then the pages网页 inside are still loose疏松,
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让它成为一种硬质地的材料,
然而里面的书页还是松散的,
00:50
and then I carve雕刻
into the surface表面 of the book,
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然后我从书的表面雕刻进去,
00:52
and I'm not moving移动 or adding加入 anything.
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而并没有添加或剪切任何东西。
00:54
I'm just carving雕刻 around
whatever随你 I find interesting有趣.
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我只是雕刻我感兴趣的地方。
00:57
So everything you see
within the finished piece
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在所有完成的作品中,你所看到的
01:00
is exactly究竟 where it was
in the book before I began开始.
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和我开始创作时是完全一致的。
01:04
I think of my work as sort分类 of
a remix混音, in a way,
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我认为我的作品像是混音,
01:07
because I'm working加工 with
somebody else's别人的 material材料
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因为我在用别人的材料创作,
01:09
in the same相同 way that a D.J. might威力 be
working加工 with somebody else's别人的 music音乐.
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就和一个音乐播音者
混搭着别人的音乐差不多。
01:12
This was a book of Raphael拉斐尔 paintings绘画,
the Renaissance再生 artist艺术家,
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这是文艺复兴画家拉斐尔的一本画册,
01:16
and by taking服用 his work
and remixing混音 it, carving雕刻 into it,
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而用他的作品来混合雕刻,
01:21
I'm sort分类 of making制造 it into something
that's more new and more contemporary现代的.
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我把它变成一些更现代化的东西。
01:25
I'm thinking思维 also about breaking破坏 out
of the box of the traditional传统 book
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我也在考虑打破传统书籍的框架,
01:29
and pushing推动 that linear线性 format格式,
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打破它的线性规律,
01:31
and try to push the structure结构体
of the book itself本身
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并尝试改变书本身的结构,
01:35
so that the book can become成为
fully充分 sculptural雕塑.
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让书本能够被完全雕刻。
01:41
I'm using运用 clamps夹子 and ropes绳索
and all sorts排序 of materials物料, weights权重,
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我使用夹子和绳之类的各种材料,
增加它的重量,
01:45
in order订购 to hold保持 things
in place地点 before I varnish
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让它在上漆前能够固定住,
01:48
so that I can push the form形成
before I begin开始,
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因此我就能在开始雕刻前
改变它的形状,
01:50
so that something like this
can become成为 a piece like this,
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所以这样的东西,
能够变成一件这样的东西,
01:55
which哪一个 is just made制作
from a single dictionary字典.
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这只是由一本字典做成的。
01:58
Or something like this
can become成为 a piece like this.
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或者像这样的东西,
能够成为一件这样的东西。
02:06
Or something like this,
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或者是像这样的书,
02:08
which哪一个 who knows知道 what that's going to be
or why that's in my studio工作室,
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没人知道它将会变成什么,
或是为什么它会在我的工作室里,
02:12
will become成为 a piece like this.
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而它将会变成一件这样的东西。
02:16
So I think one of the reasons原因
people are disturbed不安 by destroying销毁 books图书,
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我认为人们因摧毁书
而感到不安的原因之一,
02:20
people don't want to rip安息 books图书
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他们不想去撕书,
02:22
and nobody没有人 really wants
to throw away a book,
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而且没有人想扔掉一本书,
02:24
is that we think about books图书
as living活的 things,
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那是因为我们把书看成有生命的东西,
02:26
we think about them as a body身体,
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我们把它们看成一个生命体,
02:28
and they're created创建
to relate涉及 to our body身体, as far as scale规模,
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按照规模来说,
它们是为我们量身定做的,
02:31
but they also have the potential潜在
to continue继续 to grow增长
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但是他们也有继续生长的潜力,
02:33
and to continue继续 to become成为 new things.
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并继续成为新的东西。
02:35
So books图书 really are alive.
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所以书本确实是活物。
02:38
So I think of the book as a body身体,
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因此我把书籍看做是一个生命,
02:40
and I think of the book as a technology技术.
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并看作是科技。
02:43
I think of the book as a tool工具.
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我把它看做是一件工具。
02:48
And I also think of the book as a machine.
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同时我也把它看做是一个机器。
02:52
I also think of the book as a landscape景观.
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我也把书籍看作是一处山水。
02:54
This is a full充分 set of encyclopedias百科全书
that's been connected连接的 and sanded磨毛 together一起,
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这是一整套全部连接
并打磨完毕的百科全书,
02:59
and as I carve雕刻 through通过 it,
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当我进行雕刻时,
03:01
I'm deciding决定 what I want to choose选择.
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我在考虑我要该雕刻什么。
03:03
So with encyclopedias百科全书,
I could have chosen选择 anything,
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就百科全书而言,
我能够选择任何东西,
03:05
but I specifically特别 chose选择
images图片 of landscapes景观.
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但是我着重选择了风景的图画。
03:10
And with the material材料 itself本身,
I'm using运用 sandpaper砂纸
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就材料而言,我用砂纸
03:12
and sanding砂光 the edges边缘
so not only the images图片 suggest建议 landscape景观,
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去打磨它的边角,
因此不仅图案展示风景,
03:16
but the material材料 itself本身
suggests提示 a landscape景观 as well.
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自身的材料也展现了风景。
03:21
So one of the things I do
is when I'm carving雕刻 through通过 the book,
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我做的其中一件事是,
当我雕刻书本的时候,
03:24
I'm thinking思维 about images图片,
but I'm also thinking思维 about text文本,
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我在考虑书的图案,
但同时我亦考虑其文字,
03:28
and I think about them
in a very similar类似 way,
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我以类似的方式看待它们,
03:30
because what's interesting有趣
is that when we're reading text文本,
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因为有趣的是,当我们阅读文字时,
03:33
when we're reading a book,
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当我们在读书时,
03:35
it puts看跌期权 images图片 in our head,
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它会在我们的脑海里展现出图像,
03:36
so we're sort分类 of filling填充 that piece.
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因此我们把图文相结合。
03:38
We're sort分类 of creating创建 images图片
when we're reading text文本,
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我们在阅读时就在构造一幅图像,
03:42
and when we're looking at an image图片,
we actually其实 use language语言
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当我们看一幅图片时,我们使用语言
03:44
in order订购 to understand理解
what we're looking at.
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去理解我们看到的东西。
03:47
So there's sort分类 of
a yin-yang阴阳 that happens发生,
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这有点类似于阴阳平衡,
03:49
sort分类 of a flip翻动 flop拍击声.
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就像是两面。
03:51
So I'm creating创建 a piece
that the viewer观众 is completing完成 themselves他们自己.
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我在创作一件能令观者
结合图文的作品。
03:57
And I think of my work
as almost几乎 an archaeology考古学.
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我把我的工作看作是考古。
04:00
I'm excavating挖掘 and I'm trying
to maximize最大化 the potential潜在
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我在挖掘并尝试着
最大限度地提高它的潜质,
04:03
and discover发现 as much as I possibly或者 can
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尽可能地去发掘更多,
04:06
and exposing曝光 it within my own拥有 work.
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并将它在我的作品中展示出来。
04:10
But at the same相同 time,
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但是与此同时,
04:11
I'm thinking思维 about this idea理念 of erasure擦除,
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我有个关于“抹除”的点子,
04:13
and what's happening事件 now that most
of our information信息 is intangible无形,
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如今大多数的信息是无形的,
04:18
and this idea理念 of loss失利,
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而这个关于“失去”的想法,
04:21
and this idea理念 that not only is the format格式
constantly经常 shifting within computers电脑,
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不仅仅是在电脑里不断转换的格式,
04:25
but the information信息 itself本身,
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而且信息本身也不断在变化,
04:28
now that we don't have a physical物理 backup备用,
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如今我们没有一个实体备份,
04:30
has to be constantly经常 updated更新
in order订购 to not lose失去 it.
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必须要不断更新才不会丢失信息。
04:35
And I have several一些 dictionaries字典
in my own拥有 studio工作室,
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我的工作室里有几本字典,
04:38
and I do use a computer电脑 every一切 day,
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而我也每天使用电脑,
04:41
and if I need to look up a word,
I'll go on the computer电脑,
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如果我需要查找一个单词,
我会用电脑去找,
04:43
because I can go directly
and instantly即刻 to what I'm looking up.
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因为我可以立即找到我要找的东西。
04:47
I think that the book was never really
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我认为书本并不完全
04:49
the right format格式
for nonlinear非线性 information信息,
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适用于非线性的信息,
04:52
which哪一个 is why we're seeing眼看 reference参考 books图书
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这也是为什么我们看见参考书
04:54
becoming变得 the first to be
endangered濒危 or extinct绝种.
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成为第一类濒危或灭绝的书种。
05:01
So I don't think that the book
will ever really die.
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所以我并不认为书籍将会被完全取代。
05:04
People think that now that we have
digital数字 technology技术,
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人们认为如今我们有了电子科技,
05:08
the book is going to die,
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书籍将会被取代,
05:10
and we are seeing眼看 things shifting
and things evolving进化.
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我们看见事物不断变化和进化。
05:13
I think that the book will evolve发展,
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我认为书籍将会进化,
05:15
and just like people said
painting绘画 would die
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正如人们说当相机和
打印机成为日常用工具时,
05:18
when photography摄影 and printmaking版画
became成为 everyday每天 materials物料,
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绘画就会被取代,
05:23
but what it really allowed允许 painting绘画 to do
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但是相机和打印机所能做的
05:25
was it allowed允许 painting绘画
to quit放弃 its day job工作.
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是不需要人每天都到画板前去作画。
05:27
It allowed允许 painting绘画 to not have to have
that everyday每天 chore苦差事 of telling告诉 the story故事,
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它让绘画不再限制于画板和笔,
05:34
and painting绘画 became成为 free自由
and was allowed允许 to tell its own拥有 story故事,
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我们能够用不同的方式绘画,
去叙述不同的故事,
05:37
and that's when we saw Modernism现代主义 emerge出现,
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现代主义就是这么出现的,
05:39
and we saw painting绘画
go into different不同 branches分支机构.
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我们发现各种不同的画风。
05:41
And I think that's what's
happening事件 with books图书 now,
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我认为同样的事情
也发生在书本的身上。
05:44
now that most of our technology技术,
most of our information信息,
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如今我们大多数的科技、信息、
05:46
most of our personal个人 and cultural文化
records记录 are in digital数字 form形成,
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私人信息都以电子形式记录下来,
05:51
I think it's really allowing允许 the book
to become成为 something new.
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我觉得这能让书本成为一种新的东西。
05:54
So I think it's a very exciting扣人心弦 time
for an artist艺术家 like me,
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所以对像我这样的艺术家来说,
这是一个激动人心的时期。
05:56
and it's very exciting扣人心弦 to see what
will happen发生 with the book in the future未来.
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我很渴望看看书籍
在未来是如何发展的。
06:00
Thank you.
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谢谢。
06:01
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Jack Qiu
Reviewed by Sherry Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Brian Dettmer -
Artist Brian Dettmer digs into a good book (literally, with a knife) to create beautifully intricate forms that reflect how we see old information in a modern world.

Why you should listen
New York–based artist Brian Dettmer carves intricate sculptures from outdated materials like encyclopedias, textbooks, maps and cassette tapes. To create his works Dettmer seals the object with varnish, then swiftly and deftly moves through it with an X-Acto knife until he comes out the other side, cutting away material to form something new. His beautiful carvings reflect how, in a digital information landscape, even the oldest forms of knowledge can be repurposed.
More profile about the speaker
Brian Dettmer | Speaker | TED.com