Canadian artist carves up books to produce astonishing caves and mountainous landscapes Guy Laramée, of Montreal, says his works show 'mountains of disused knowledge' return to being just mountains One recent work is Han Shan, in dedication to 9th century Chinese poet whose name translated as 'Cold Mountain' Another is called A Caverna (The Cave), which took its inspiration from novel by Portuguese author José Saramago Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sandburg mused that 'a book is never a masterpiece: it becomes one' - and an artist is now bringing the saying to life. Guy Laramée, 56, of Montreal, Canada, has produced a set of astonishing pieces of art by carving up books and creating small-scale landscapes inside. While literature enthusiasts may gasp at what Mr Laramée is doing to books, the mountains and rock-face monuments he has created are spectacular. Impressive creations: A cave cut into a Webster's Dictionary (left) by artist Guy Laramée and a mountainous landscape inside Geographie Universelle (right) Wide and near views: Mr Laramée, an artist who lives and works in Montreal, Canada, cut this cave into a copy of Brown's Bible (left and right) Steep mountains: A wide and closer view of the modified copy of Geographie Universelle, a series of geography books in French Mysterious: Pieces from one of his latest two works called Han Shan, in dedication to the 9th century Chinese poet whose name literally translated as 'Cold Mountain' Education: Mr Laramée has masters degrees in visual arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and anthropology from Concordia University in Montreal One of his latest two works is called Han Shan, in dedication to the 9th century Chinese poet whose name literally translated as 'Cold Mountain'. And his other is called A Caverna, or "The Cave," which took its inspiration from the 2000 novel by Portuguese Nobel Prize author José Saramago. The story regards an ageing potter who is told by his only purchaser that consumers no longer want to buy his products and are moving to plastics. It is built upon the Allegory of the Cave by Greek philosopher Plato, which looked at the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature. The novel looks at how our judgment and opinions might enslave us, as well as our attachment to imagination and all of our cultural productions. Unusual: While literature enthusiasts may gasp at what Mr Laramée is doing to books, the mountains and rock-face monuments he has created are spectacular Career: Mr Laramée has been working for 30 years across various artistic disciplines such as theatre writing, contemporary music composition and sculpture Subject matter: Mr Laramée says in his artist statement that, through his work, 'mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains' Mr Laramée says in an artist statement: "We are currently told that the paper book is bound to die. The library, as a place, is finished. One might ask so what? Do we really believe that "new technologies" will change anything concerning our existential dilemma, our human condition?" He adds: "I carve landscapes out of books and I paint romantic landscapes. Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Mr Laramée has masters degrees in visual arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and anthropology from Concordia University in Montreal. He has been working for 30 years across various artistic disciplines such as theatre writing, contemporary music composition and sculpture.