Andrew (Andy) Baron | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 31, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Paper engineer |
| Spouse | Paula |
| Website | popyrus |
Andrew Baron (born 1962) is a self-taught, [1] award-winning paper engineer and singled out by Robert Sabuda, a leading children's pop-up book artist, as a wunderkind of pull tabs, [2] specific devices used to cause movement in pop-up books.
Baron was awarded the Movable Book Society's Meggendorfer Prize for Best Paper Engineering in 2004 for Knick-Knack Paddywhack! The book, by Paul O. Zelinsky, has “200 movable parts, 300 glue points – twice the usual number – 15 lift-the-flaps, and 10 parts on the last spread alone, moving simultaneously with one tab!... 500 people [at the Hua Yang Printing Company in China] worked on the book." [3] Of this book, Robert Sabuda noted, "his designs are unique, complex, thoughtful and he doesn't skimp on the amount of paper or rivets needed to accomplish an action." [4]
Baron has also repaired and restored old clocks, music boxes, radios and typewriters since childhood. [5] In 2007, Baron spent about 70 hours repairing the "Draughtsman-Writer" automaton by Henri Maillardet (1745–1830). [6] A version of Maillardet’s automaton, a self-powered robot that writes poetry and draws four different images, was in Martin Scorsese’s movie Hugo and Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. [7] [8]
| Year | Title | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Pop! The Arthur J. Williams Pop-up Collection [9] | Florida Atlantic University, Wimberly Library | Also included David A. Carter, James Diaz, Harold Lentz |
| 2012 | Pop-Up! Illustration in 3-D [10] | Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, PA | Items drew largely from the collection of Ann Montanaro Staples, founder of The Movable Book Society |
| 2011 | The Harold M. Goralnick Pop-Up Book Collection: An Exhibition [11] | Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine | The collection holds over 1,900 volumes, including works by Baron. |
| 2010 | Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop and Turn [12] | Smithsonian Institution Libraries, National Museum of American History | Also included Matthew Reinhart, Bruce Foster, Chuck Fischer |
| 2004 | Show Me a Story: Children’s Books and the Technology of Enchantment [13] | San Francisco Center for the Book | Exhibit includes inside view of the production of Knick-Knack Paddywhack! |