Pop-up books to be exhibited as works of art

The exhibition will showcase 160 rare pop-up books ranging from the longest pop-up book in the world — an 8.2-meter-long book about the history of Czech Republic — to a 4-cm-wide miniature version of Anne of Green Gables.

Other items on displays will include books that open to a 1.4-meter-long Titanic, a 1.5-meter-tall space shuttle and a Taiwanese Hand Puppet theater.

The exhibition will also feature a set of books by the U.S. fashion quarterly Visionaire that has produced pop-ups by contemporary artists such as China's Cai Guoqiang, who is known for his gunpowder drawings and explosive works.

“Our biggest goal is to send the message that pop-ups are not just ordinary books or children's books, but interactive visual art,” said Michael Yang, curator of the event and a private collector who supplied the exhibits.

“Every pop-up book is assembled by hand, which means that each one is a unique piece of art,” Yang said.

The interactive nature of pop-up books also makes it easy for readers to absorb the knowledge and information contained there in, he added.

Chang Yui-tan, director of the National Museum of History where the exhibition will be held, agreed that pop-ups are unique and more than just books.

The museum hopes to show how pop-up books have evolved over the past 700 years, from a resource that explained astronomy, anatomy and mechanics to a spinoff of popular movies such as “Titanic,” “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter,” he said.

Matthew Reinhart, an American pop-up book artist who has created many award winning books such as “Star Wars: A Pop-up Guide to the Galaxy,” and Hong Kong pop-up artist Liu Sijie will also attend the exhibition to discuss the creative processes with visitors.

Meanwhile, regular children's books and pop-ups have been donated to children in rural areas of Taiwan as part of the exhibition, in a joint effort by the museum and the United Daily News Group.

A total of 1,000 elementary school children will be invited to attend the exhibition for free and workshops will be held to show teachers how to use pop-up books as a learning resource.

The exhibition will run until Sept. 16.

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