What is art? Critics have debated this question forever. Here is a funny yet thoughtful discussion of the subject, presented in claymation by a host of gregarious animal characters. Though they don’t answer the question definitively, they make some pertinent points.

British photographer Carl Warner composes amazing landscapes out of the stuff of grocery stores and farmers’ markets. Fruits, vegetables, and grains all serve to suggest landscape elements. The artist photographs individual components while his subjects are fresh, then digitally constructs the layers into finished scenes. To see more of Warner’s work, visit the haha.nu blogzine or Warner’s fancy website (requiring Flash 6 or above).

Matt Schlian does amazing things with paper! But even more fascinating is his collaborative work with scientists at the University of Michigan. There they are studying how paper folding relates to protein structure. Mis-folded proteins are suspected to be one of the causes of Alzehimer’s disease, for example, and paper folding on a nano scale might lead to a better understanding of how to correct this problem. To see images of Matt’s work and read more about this project, visit marcusprize.blogspot.com/2008/02/matt-schlian.html and also his website www.mattschlian.com

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.

This e-journal is a wealth of information for those interested in the book arts, bookbinding, fine binding, book exhibitions and related topics. The journal’s clean, attractive design reflects it’s subject, and each issue includes thoughtful, well-written articles by authorities in the field along with a generous number of photographic illustrations. The journal establishes a needed critical discourse on the art of the book, and record of important technical information. The issues are downloadable as PDF files. Visit the website, www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder

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.

Ruth Marcus teaches an art class with students who are mostly Sudanese refugees. Recently she did a project where they learned how to make some basic pop-ups. “With only two pieces of paper, some cutting and some glue, the kids can make moving cards of their very own, and color all over them as well.” Visit the kids at Ruth’s blog to see more photos.

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.

The long-awaited Volume 2 of Carol Barton’s The Pocket Paper Engineer is on it’s way, and will be available in late June. This volume will cover the steps in constructing four glued pop-ups: platforms, props, spirals, and straddles. The book includes ten new projects to be constructed right out of the book, plus lots of photos, ideas, and step-by-step instructions for creating your own pop-ups.

Visit http://www.popularkinetics.com/sales_page.html to place your pre-publication order now!

Carol Barton recently was interviewed by Mary-Charlotte Domandi on the public radio member station KSFR in Santa Fe, NM, along with Santa Fe Art Institute director Diane Karp. The half-hour segment covers a wide range of topics ranging from Barton’s work with pop-ups, historical background on artist’s books, and even a few science subjects. To listen to the full interview, go to SantaFeRadioCafe.org