Colette Fu
| Colette Fu | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Rochester Institute of Technology, Fine Art Photography |
| Occupation | Book artist, paper engineer, artist |
| Awards | Fulbright Scholarship |
| Website |
colettefu |
Colette Fu is a photographer, book artist and paper engineer based in Philadelphia, PA. Her large-scale, three-dimensional pop-up books feature photographic images which extend towards the viewer for many layers. During an artist residency in Shanghai, Fu designed China's largest pop-up book.[1][2][3]
Biography
Fu, who grew up in New Jersey, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Fu traveled to China with a student tour and stayed for three years teaching English and, later, studying the Chinese language. During her last year, Fu traveled throughout Yunnan, where her mother, member of the Yi community, was born, photographing various people in ethnic dress.[4] After returning the United States, Fu studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she began collaging images into detailed hyperreal fantasy scenarios.[5]
Fu's well-received pop-up book series include:
- Haunted Philadelphia explores the psychology of fear and spookiness in locations around the city, such as Fort Mifflin, Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry.
- We Are Tiger Dragon People, started in 2008, is a series of pop-up books showcasing the diversity of ethnic minority communities in Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The books feature aspects of the local culture: festivals, clothing, dance, folklore, deities, and people.[6]
Fu's commercial clients for paper engineering have included Louis Vuitton, Vogue China, and Children's Medical Center in Texas.[7]
Technique
On a visit to her local Borders Book Store, Fu stumbled onto a Robert Sabuda pop-up book and was instantly enamored.[8] Fu then learned paper engineering mechanics by reverse engineering pop-up books purchased on eBay,.[9][10]
Each of Fu's pop-up books are a single, large format spread. Fu creates a digital collage using her own photographs on her computer, then "works on the pop-up mechanisms that cause her composition to explode from the page."[11] Each pop-up element is cut by hand. Some books include up to 20 photographs and measure 3 x 4.5 feet.[12] An average pop-up can take about two to three weeks to design and build.[13]
Exhibitions
| Year | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Wanderer/Wonderer: Pop-Ups by Colette Fu" | The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, Catalog included[14] |
| 2015 | Land of Deities: Pop-up Photos of Southwest China[15] | Georgetown University, Washington, DC |
| 2013 | We are Tiger Dragon People & Photobinge[16] | Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Boca Raton, FL |
| 2011 | Haunted Philly: Photography & Pop-ups by Colette Fu[17] | Philadelphia Athenaeum, Philadelphia, PA |
Awards
- Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Visual Arts Fellowship, 2015[18]
- Fulbright Research Fellowship to China, 2008[19]
Contributions
- Making Books with Kids: 25 Paper Projects to Fold, Sew, Paste, Pop, and Draw[20] by Esther K. Smith, 2016. Fu's Spinning Flower Pop-Up, page 83.
- Playing with Pop-Ups: The Art of Dimensional, Moving Paper Designs[21] by Helen Hiebert, 2014. Fu's pattern for a pop-up version of Philadelphia's First Bank of the United States is on pages 60–63.
References
- ↑ "Colette Fu | National Museum of Women in the Arts". nmwa.org. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ ""I Love Shanghai" pop-up book for Réel Shopping Mall". July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Marshall, Ray. "HUGE entry way pop-up by Colette Fu". Flickr. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Lovelace, Joyce. "To Be Seen | American Craft Council". American Craft Council (August 2015). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Lovelace, Joyce. "To Be Seen | American Craft Council". American Craft Council (August 2015). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Lovelace, Joyce. "To Be Seen | American Craft Council". American Craft Council (August 2015). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Irish, Alex (May 12, 2014). "The Perfect Pop-Up Art of Colette Fu". CF Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Stinson, Liz. "A Mind-Blowing Pop-Up Book Shows China's Vanishing Tribes". WIRED. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Lofthouse, Gracie. "The secret art of pop-up books – Libertine". Libertine. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ MacDonald, Kerri. "Yunnan Province in Three Dimensions". Lens Blog. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Hua, Vanessa. "Ancient Art Revives Connection to a Culture Left Behind – NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Stinson, Liz. "A Mind-Blowing Pop-Up Book Shows China's Vanishing Tribes". WIRED. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ McGrory, Marie (February 23, 2015). "It's a Photo! It's a Collage! It's a Pop-up!". Proof. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Fu, Colette; Wasserman, Krystyna (January 1, 2016). "Wanderer/Wonderer: Pop-Ups by Colette Fu : October 14, 2016 – February 26, 2017.". Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Exhibition: Pop-up Books by Colette Fu". art.georgetown.edu. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Jaffee Center of Art Book Art". www.library.fau.edu. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Athenaeum of Philadelphia Newsletter". www.philaathenaeum.org. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Colette Fu, Fellow | The Center for Emerging Visual Artists". www.cfeva.org. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Booklyn Artists Alliance | Colette Fu, Philadelphia, PA". www.booklyn.org. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Smith, Esther (2016). Making Books with Kids: 25 Paper Projects to Fold, Sew, Paste, Pop, and Draw. Quarry Books. ISBN 1631590812.
- ↑ Hiebert, Helen (2014). Playing with pop-ups : the art of dimensional, moving paper designs. ISBN 1592539084.