We Did It!! Play with Pop-Up Book Sculpture!

University of Alberta Dept. of Art & Design, pop-up book exhibition, video with Kevin Zak (curator)

We talked about the Brontë sisters* because they invented a complex imaginary world as children and wrote books about it. Their childhood play informed their work as adult writers.

We also looked at a children's book about Jane Goodall. She had a stuffed animal chimpanzee when she was a little girl and took him everywhere. Who knew her childhood imagination would lead her to study and live amongst real chimpanzees! These examples of the way childhood play can lead to adult play/work is one of the reasons we studied them with our playful book sculpture lesson. The other reason is to remember that what we do now matters, no matter our age.

Brontë, books from childhood, NPR
Me...Jane children's book

We looked at the art of Cornelia Parker, born in 1956, Cheshire, England.

"Cornelia Parker was interested in exploring the underside of the Brontës' monumentality and this remarkable body of new work offered new perspectives on the myths and stereotypes that have been built around the Brontës, challenging our preconceptions about them. The Brontës' items were examined in new ways, to explore marks left unconsciously - the pin pricks in Charlotte's pin cushion, ink blots on blotting paper and the scribblings out on manuscripts - as well microscopic views of Charlotte's quill pen and analysis conducted on samples of their hair." - Brontë Society

Responding to the question, “When did you decide to become an artist?”

“On a school trip to London when I was 15. We went for a week, and the whole world of art opened up: I'd never even been to a museum before. Having spent my childhood working hard, the idea that I might spend my adulthood playing began to seem quite attractive.”

- Cornelia Parker

Movie Trailer for Jane Eyre, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë

*The Brontë Sisters:

 Wuthering Heights: A Brief Summary

Emily Brontë

Many people, generally those who have never read the book, consider Wuthering Heights to be a straightforward, if intense, love story — Romeo and Juliet on the Yorkshire Moors. But this is a mistake. Really the story is one of revenge. It follows the life of Heathcliff, a mysterious gypsy-like person, from childhood (about seven years old) to his death in his late thirties. Heathcliff rises in his adopted family and then is reduced to the status of a servant, running away when the young woman he loves decides to marry another. He returns later, rich and educated, and sets about gaining his revenge on the two families that he believed ruined his life.

Agnes Grey:

Anne Brontë

At age 19 Anne Brontë left home and worked as a governess for a few years before becoming a writer. Agnes Grey was an 1847 novel based on her experience as a governess. Bronte depicts the precarious position of a governess and how that can affect a young woman. Agnes was the daughter of a minister whose family was in financial difficulty. She has only a few choices for employment. Agnes experiences the difficulty of reining in spoiled children and how wealth can corrupt morals. She later opens a school and finds happiness.

Jane Eyre:

Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester. However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors.