POP Goes the Artists’ Book!

January 23 – March 20, 2012

Through the art and craft of paper engineering, pop-up books partake a wide range of shapes and configurations in three-dimensional form. A type of movable book, they are related to carousels, tunnel books, flag books, and other interactive structures. Pop-up books were first produced in the early twentieth century, although earlier forms of movable books, such as volvelles (or wheels) and pull-tabs, have been inspiring readers for centuries. Many pop-up books use the “V-fold” element, which attaches to facing pages and unfolds from the center when the book is open and collapses when the book is closed. No longer flat and motionless, paper that is folded seems to spring to life with playful, kinetic intent. Other pop-up construction techniques include the stage set, the box and cylinder, and floating layers.

The dynamic works on display are from the Kohler Art Library’s Artists’ Book Collection. They demonstrate some of the potential for this art form, but the possibilities for incorporating pop-up action are limitless. Imaginative examples from the collaborative portfolio of movable paper constructions, Handmade Paper in Motion (2010), include a large green frog, a crouching figure, a bottle of sumi ink spilling Chinese characters, a floral bouquet, a yucca plant, an African-inspired mask, a jar of snakes, and an abstract form. The earliest work on display is Ali Baba e i 40 ladroni (Ali Baba and the 40 thieves) by Italian illustrator and stage designer Mario Zampini (1950). Also noteworthy is the spectacular Sanctae Hildegardis Circulus Sapientiae = Circle of Wisdom (2001) by Claire Van Vliet, with its interlocking pop-up structures. This non-adhesive approach is unlike other pop-up books which typically use glue to secure the folded paper.

On a related note, an inventive producer of movable books in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was the German illustrator and writer Lothar Meggendorfer. Many examples of his work, which employs complex pull-tab mechanisms and colorful stage-like panoramas, can be found in the Special Collections Department of Memorial Library.

The Kohler Art Library also houses a number of useful print resources that demonstrate step-by-step the process of creating pop-ups. Recommended are The Pocket Paper Engineer (vols. 1 & 2) by Carol Barton and Elements of Pop-up by David Carter.

Curated by Lyn Korenic and Rob Nurre.

Image:  Claire Van Vliet.  Sanctae Hildegardis Circulus sapientiae=Circle of Wisdom.  Newark, Vt.: Janus, 2001.