Taiwan

Stunning Pop-up Books pays tribute to three-dimensional illustrations with an exhibit of more than 160 volumes

Digital readers are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, but sometimes there is no substitute for a paper book. Stunning Pop-up Books pays tribute to the art form with 160 works created by artists from around the world. The exhibit opened on June 16 at the National Museum of History and runs until Sept. 16.

The exhibit traces the history of books with three-dimensional illustrations from their first use in the 14th century as astronomy and anatomy reference volumes. In 1932, US publisher Blue Ribbon coined the term “pop-up books” to describe their children’s storybooks, including Jack the Giant Killer (a copy of which is on display).

Contemporary artists whose works are on display include paper engineer Robert Sabuda, author and illustrator David A. Carter, Matthew Reinhart, the creator of Star Wars: The Pop-up Guide to the Galaxy and Hong Kong artist Kit Lau. Other books cover the Titanic, Harry Potter and traditional Taiwanese architecture.

Paper art fans will also have a chance to see a rare copy of Visionaire’s 2008 holiday issue. The high-concept fashion magazine turned works by eleven photographers and artists, including Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Sophie Calle and Cai Guo-qiang, into pop-up dioramas.

For more information, visit popup.ishow.gmg.tw.

Exhibition Notes
What: Stunning Pop-up Books
When: Until Sept. 16. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. General admission is NT$30
Where: National Museum of History, 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City, tel: (02) 2361-0270.
On the Net: www.nmh.gov.tw

By Catherine Shu
Taipei Times
23 June 2012

Photo caption
Stunning Pop-up Books showcases volumes with illustrations that are feats of engineering.