Altered Books
No this is not a joke. There is actually an organization called, The International Society of Altered Books (http://www.alteredbookartists.com).
There was recently a discussion on LM_NET (http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/) about it. I kind of
like the idea. They take old, worn, falling apart books, and turn
them into artworks (collages, scrapbooks, etc.)
Some people raised objections about it, using intellectual property
as their reason. This raises a more relevant question: To what
extent does intellectual property reach? Does someone's
intellectual property actually include the paper on which it is
printed? Mircosoft, the MPAA (http://www.mpaa.org), and the RIAA would have you believe
that it does.
I argue that once I buy the book, it's mine. I cannot change it
and then republish it, but I can surely rip it to shreds, write on it,
spill food on it, and put it in the washing machine to my heart's
content (of course I would never do any of those things, but you are
free to do it).
