Musings on Folded, Flapped, Rolled, and Manipulated Paper

An Online Curator Talk with Elizabeth Yale, Damien Ihrig, and Giselle Simón

Join Elizabeth Yale, Damien Ihrig, and Giselle Simón, co-curators of the Main Library Gallery’s Paper Engineering in Art, Science, and Education exhibition, as they step into the world of paper technologies and movable books. Explore how the fascinating craft of paper engineering supported scientific exploration, entertained through playful designs, and continues to ignite imagination in contemporary art and science.

Registration is required to attend this free virtual event. RSVP to receive a webinar link

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About the curators:

Elizabeth Yale, a historian of science and the book in Britain and Europe, is associate professor in the Department of History and the Center for the Book at the University of Iowa. Dr. Yale teaches courses on early modern European history, the history of science and medicine, book history, women and gender, British history, and the material analysis of early modern printed and manuscript texts. She is the author of Sociable Knowledge: Natural History and the Nation in Early Modern Britain (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). With Vera Keller and Anna Marie Roos, she co-edited Archival Afterlives: Life, Death, and Knowledge-Making in Early Modern British Scientific and Medical Archives (Brill, 2018).

Damien Ihrig is the curator of the John Martin Rare Book Room (JMRBR) at Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa Libraries. He works with students, faculty, staff, and community researchers who use the JMRBR collection. He also has collection management responsibilities for all of Hardin, reference duties, and works in collaboration with campus partners to create exhibits and events in the JMRBR, Hardin, and across the UI Libraries. Before becoming a librarian, he supported students in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine’s Office of Student Affairs.

Giselle Simón is the university conservator and director of Conservation and Collections Care at the University of Iowa Libraries. She teaches book conservation and bookbinding as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. She previously worked in book conservation at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library in Chicago. She has taught bookbinding and conservation classes at Columbia College Chicago Center for the Book and Paper Arts, and collections care courses at the University of Chicago’s Graham School. Since 2010 she has been a co-director for Paper and Book Intensive, a working sabbatical for paper and book practitioners.

About the exhibit:

Paper Engineering in Art, Science, and Education showcases the fascinating world of movable books and paper technologies. The exhibition invites visitors to enjoy seeing flap books, pop-ups, tunnel books, volvelles, and books that use paper to make sounds while learning about their historical and contemporary significance.

Paper has long held a crucial role in communicating information to artists, scientists, and students. Medical flap books from the 16th to the 19th centuries provided an affordable way for physicians to gain hands-on knowledge about the body. Children’s books from the 18th century onwards used movable elements to instruct and entertain, acting as precursors to interactive media. Artist’s books from the last century demonstrate how paper technologies can engage viewers in new and exciting ways. Through these and other rare materials from University of Iowa Libraries collections, this exhibition celebrates the creativity, design, and ingenuity of paper engineering.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Main Library Gallery in advance at 319-467-1805 or [email protected]