The creepy cassette tape afterlife

Artist Brian Dettmer breathes macabre new life into salvaged audiocassettes with a series of spooky, skeletal sculptures.

Mon, Oct 26 2009 at 12:59 AM EST

In the past few years — thanks in part to design tastemakers like Hollister Hovey and others — dead animal décor has become all the rage. I’m referring, of course, to antique taxidermy, not freshly embalmed and mounted creations. Taxidermy is rustic, retro-chic, and the ultimate conversation-starting garage sale find. Generally, I support secondhand treasures but I find taxidermy a bit unsettling. It has that Natural History Museum/Addams Family/NRA vibe that I’d rather not add to my apartment.

But what if the taxidermy in question is faux taxidermy and not made from a once-living animal? Does that make it any less creepy (creepy being the operative word this Halloween week)? Atlanta-based artist Brian Dettmer poses that question with his macabre recycled art that takes taxidermy one step further since it's not “stuffed," per say. It's skeletal. And it's made from the skeletons of old audiocassette tapes.

It’s spooky stuff as you can see but also quite astounding. I’ve written about cassette tape reuse in the past (it’s a topic that hits very close to home) but I’ve never quite seen anything like this. Dettmer’s sculptures are crafted from 100 percent melted and molded cassette tapes; there’s no glue, tape, or other materials used. The full-human skeleton is made from 180 salvaged cassette tapes. Check out the detail.