Fun and Games at the Herron Art Library

An indication of the diversity of content and format of Artists' Books is that while some are 'book-like' and invite the 'reader' to treat them like conventional books, others are not. Indeed many are of such unusual formats and structures that they seem more like puzzles or games. One such book is Nora Robertson's and Helen Hiebert's "The Pop-UP Hand Shadow Book". Helen Hiebert describes it as ".. featur[ing] four illustrated animal hand shadows in a theatrical book structure. The animals are brought to life as the viewer plays with a mini flashlight (packaged with the book), casting shadows onto panels behind the pop-ups in the book. A verse about each animal, by the poet appears on each page."  

Created in Hiebert's Colorado studio in 2012 this item is further described by the bookseller, Vamp & Tramp (http://www.vampandtramp.com) as "6.75 x 7.375" closed, and extending to 6.175 x 18 x 8"; 4 pages. Letterpress printed and laser-cut paper pages. Gate fold with fold-out pop-up panels. Housed in a cherry and plywood box with cut-outs of each animal featured in the book. Includes a mini-flashlight. Signed and numbered by the poet and artist." A poem accompanies each of the four images of Goose, Alligator, Baby birds, and Snail with visual instructions to use your hands to replicate the shadow images. The real fun is when the small torch is used to project the images against the back 'screen' of each page. Magical fun for any age.

The Pop-UP Hand Shadow Book
Images courtesy of Vamp & Tramp