With Popular Kinetics based in Washington, D.C., national politics is our local news. So we were delighted to find an artist who has used the pop-up format (large-scale, no less) as commentary on the current election campaign. Kenneth Tin-kin Hung has designed two 8×8x8-foot pop-ups, one featuring John McCain and the other Barak Obama. The first is titled Residential Erection: Elephant List, the other Residential Erection: Ultra Donkey. To see more photos, go to the Archives, April-May 2008, at http://www.postmastersart.com
In still animation, each frame advances the story just a little bit. The frames move so quickly before your eyes that you barely notice they are individual images spliced together to create a “moving picture.” Here, the technique is sometimes visible, but all the more amazing because the images that move are painted, then scrubbed out as part of the narrative itself. This short film titled “Muto” is by the artist Blu, shot on walls in Buenos Aires and Baden, with a soundtrack by Andrea Martignoni. It is a totally captivating adventure.
Since August, 2003, artist Shelley Jackson has been “publishing” her 2095-word story, one word at a time. Volunteers to the project agree to tattoo a word that Shelly assigns to them somewhere on their bodies. The word must be in a classic font and large enough to be readable by the naked eye. The project is ongoing, and documentation of it can be seen at her web site, www.inedradicablestain.com If you want to volunteer for your own word, you can sign up through the site.
Marion Bataille’s new pop-up alphabet book will be coming out in September, 2008 (Roaring Book Press, ISBN 978-1-5964-3-425-7). It’s full of interesting pop-up maneuvers, tracing the entire alphabet in a dance of movable pages. A great video with a zippy soundtrack previews the upcoming edition.
We’re so impressed with Krisitne Suhr’s handsome web site, and with her wonderful mechanical paintings. Each framed painting has a pull tab, rotating wheel (called a volvelle) or other mechanical device which can be manipulated by the viewer. When activited, the image in the painting moves or transforms with surprising results. To see her paintings in action, visit Kristine’s web site.
Pop-up books have been making appearances in a range of new media situations lately, from ads to TV shows to music videos. Here are a few engaging examples:
The Lexus may not be the car for everyone, but you’ve got to appreciate the ingenuity behind their pop-up book commercial. Here’s the link for viewing. And if you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at how the commercial was made, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyrTCqdVG-8
Finally, The ABC TV show “Pushing Daisies” recently featured a paper engineer character in the episode titled “The Smell of Success.” To view the episode, go to the ABC web site, scroll down to the “Pushing Daisies” series, then find “The Smell of Success” episode. (You might have to load ABC’s player program, which just takes a few minutes.)
Paper Animation is hot this year!Fraud in the 80’s is a light-hearted music video by the band Mates of State that combines paper cut-outs, collage, dancing art materials, and more. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERW1UfLalw4
Quick-change artist Ennio performed in Washington, D.C., this summer, donning over 20 paper costumes and miming to the music of a host of well-known stars and musicians.
Born in Venice, Italy, Ennio began making costumes for the Venetian carnival while at the same time working in his father’s espresso machine repair shop. He made his first paper costume of Marilyn Monroe in the 1980’s to amuse his family and friends. Since then, his repertoire has grown. He has teamed up with costume and fashion designer Sosthen Hennekam, and has taken his act around the globe, combining mime, dance, and music with his over 300 cardboard and paper outfits.
Watch Ennio’s performance on YouTube, or visit his web site to learn more about his work.
