Matthew Reinhart, Oversized Pop-Up from The Jungle Book (Mowgli grew up with other wolves, Shere Khan the tiger), 2006. Ink on matte photo paper mounted on 6 ply cardstockand 1/4″foam core. 48 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist.
(Courtesy of Akron Art Museum)
The Akron Art Museum will present an exhibition of pop-up books by celebrated children’s book creators Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart Sept. 24.
“Wizards of Pop” is organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas and features 80 original works from more than 16 of the duo’s dynamic picture and pop-up books.
Akron Art Museum Director of Education Alison Caplan said, “In a digital world, Sabuda and Reinhart’s books emphasize the primacy of the printed page and the book as a work of art. Each book is a complex work of sculpture meticulously hand designed by this dynamic duo of paper engineers. The books delight children and adults alike. The museum has a tradition of showing the works of great picture book illustrators and Reinhart and Sabuda are the star artists in their field.”
Sabuda and Reinhart have won numerous awards for their magical pop-up creations, which are constructed from a variety of media, including batik, mosaic and delicate paper cutting. “Wizards of Pop” includes two-dimensional and three-dimensional artwork from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Encyclopedia Prehistorica series, Young Naturalist’s Pop-Up Handbook: Beetles and Butterflies, Cinderella, and Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxies.
Sabuda was born in 1965 and discovered his passion for pop-up books as a child. While studying at the Pratt Institute in New York, he furthered his love of children’s books by interning at Dial Books for Young Readers, and, after a short career as a package designer, he went on to become a full-time author and paper engineer.
Reinhart was born in 1971 and attended Clemson University. After graduation, with Sabuda’s encouragement, he studied industrial design with a concentration in toy design at the Pratt Institute. After collaborating with Robert Sabuda on pop-up books, he transitioned from toy designer to book creator.
Wizards of Pop will be on view at the Akron Art Museum from Sept. 24 through Nov. 15, in The Mary S. and David C. Corbin gallery, which is a family-friendly, community engaging exhibition space. Recent exhibitions in the gallery have included Build It!, Living With Art, The Big Draw and Beyond the News: Photographs from the Akron Beacon Journal Archives.
Related Events:
Pop In Pop-Up Drop In: October 15 • 6 to 8 p.m.
Free. Open to all ages.
Pop in to our pop up night and learn how pop-up books are made. Enjoy vintage pop ups with pop-up book collector and artist Mark Soppeland and try your hand at making a pop-up page of your own.
This exhibition is organized by the Akron Art Museum and supported by a generous gift from The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation.
