Pop-up books and kinetic art: creating vocabulary for motion and movement art forms

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines the art forms that use motion as the main medium. It focuses on the various kinds of movable books that share the capacity for physical transformation and are collectively known as pop-up books. In the last 30 years, contemporary art museums have included them in their publishing programs; museum bookstores have increased the number of special displays, creating a physical neighborhood with kinetic artworks, which are primarily associated with motion-based art. Consequently, the problem of the relationship between the two arises. Despite the common forms and themes they tackle, there is a distinct gap between kinetic art and the pop-up book in theoretical discourse. It manifests itself, first, in vocabulary, as a lack of clear definitions and terms; second, through the isolation of the theoretical studies in these two domains. Referring to ideas of Frank Popper and George Rickey on kinetic art and focusing on the spectator’s perspective, I seek to define the elements of a common vocabulary. Based on a comparative study of kinetic artworks and pop-up books, I propose a classification of art forms from two perspectives – the first relying on motion and physical mechanisms and the second centered around the effects of movement.