Paper Engineering

The Smithsonian Libraries have launched a new exhibition featuring the art of paper engineering, exemplified in books with moving parts, including peep shows, volvelles, concertinas and pop-up books. Since the fifteenth century, books with moving parts have been used as pedagogical and documentary tools. At the Smithsonian, viewers may examine the structural components of over 50 pop-up and movable books that demonstrate the diverse methods designers and paper engineers use to transform two-dimensional imagery into multi-dimensional forms.

This exhibition also features two interactive videos, a series of lectures by paper engineers and collectors and an online blog:http://smithsonianlibraries.si.edu/foldpullpopturn/

Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa Manso (b. 1967) designs panoramic pop-up books of cities, reconceiving modern architecture to address contemporary politics and ideologies. His work was featured in the 2007 University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum exhibition Homing Devices and can be viewed online via: http://www.usfcam.usf.edu/media.html#Homing. On 23 August 2010, USF CAM will open a new Garaicoa exhibition, Carlos Garaicoa: La enmienda que hay en mí (Making Amends). Watch for updates on USF CAM's home page.