Link: Cara Barer Photographer.

I arrive at some of my images by chance. Others, through experimentation. Without these two elements, my work would not flow easily from one idea to the next. A random encounter on Drew Street with the Houston Yellow Pages was the primary inspiration for this project. After that chance meeting, I began the search for more books, and more methods to change their appearance.

I realized I owned many books that were no longer of use to me, or for that matter, anyone else. Would I ever need “Windows 95?” After soaking it in the bathtub for a few hours, it had a new shape and purpose. Half Price Books became a regular haunt, and an abandoned house gave me a set of outdated reference books, complete with mold and neglect. Each book tells me how to begin according to its size, type of paper, and sometimes contents.

As I begin the process, I first consider the contents of each volume. I didn’t spend more than a few seconds on “Windows 95,” but the “New Century Dictionary of the English Language,” is a treasure that, because of its fascinating illustrations, and archaic examples, saved it from taking on a new form. Sculpting segued to thoughts on obsolescence and the relevance of libraries in this century.

In my parent’s mind, a set of encyclopedias was mandatory for a good education, and shameful not to provide it, and a trip to the library was the only way to research a paper. Now, however, that same sort of emphasis is placed on owning a computer, and connecting to the internet. A student’s research now can be done without ever leaving their desk. I have fully embraced that technology, and would not want to be without it, but, I also fear that it is slowly 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 through different means, I am attempting to blur the line between objects, sculpture, and photography. The images that contain words or phrases are meant to spark an emotion or memory in the viewer. Perhaps, the viewer might also imagine a complete fantasy, after considering “The Mad Woman.”

This project has become a journey that continues to evolve. Moreover, it has unfolded in ways that have surprised and galvanized me to carry on, and search for more ways to make us consider the future of books. -Cara Barer