Category: paper thing

Posted on by

Printed Matter Art Book Fair

Pp animation 05.15.19 02

Over a year ago (2019) Prompted by my family’s desire to see the newest indie-independent art we went to Chicago’s “Printed Matter Book Fair”. After finding parking on Wabash Ave short stroll brought us to the Michigan location of this glorious event. Old buildings on Michigan Ave destinations by themselves showing to the visitor quite an interesting 19-century approach to architectural design. There is a certain charm preserved in the old interior decoration. A crowd of mostly young people filled the stairs and walkways on 3floors of the building.
Crowded Floors filled with exhibitors and viewers with little space in between on the first sight offered plenty of interesting things to see. But after a while searching for the new, beautiful, and unexpected there was a sort of disappointment. Clearly, we expected more. The first thing which struck my practical mind was a discovery that no independent bookseller present on these 3 floors was offering something I would purchase, read and cherish for at least for a while.

Books exist not only in their physical form but at least to me as the frame for an interesting message. The message was the ingredients missing. The main message emerging from seeing the fair was a message of the author’s loss and confusion. Focusing on form, printed pages without a clear intellectual path produced nothing memorable. Even a few pop-ups I saw, did not bring to me this kind of satisfaction or curiosity to prompt me to purchase one since they are bound to sit on the shelves forgotten because of the sin of not carrying a message.
Message It is the ingredient missing from contemporary US American art. That’s why Manga Books and similar foreign inventions dominate the U.S. market. They bring the message – excitement.
In a culture focused on the financial aspect, simple seeds of imagination and creativity have no chance to flourish. The young generation of makers is trying but since there were born and raised in this environment there are trying, but falling short.
Coming back to my family we came to the conclusion that our time could be better spent.
Unfortunately.
But I think we should keep watching. true art comes unexpectedly and in small portions.
This February 2021 Printed Matter will launch its first Virtual Art Book Fair (PMVABF)
https://pmvabf.org/

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Smart paper cuts. Vojtech Kubasta Pop-up books in Florida, Fort Lauderdale museum.

Cinderella (snipped)
A Christmas Tale
A Christmas Tale pop-up book by Vojtech Kubasta

When my wife and kids enjoyed the warm beaches during our annual Florida vacation, an active person like me scouted for the unusual and beautiful, found in the local museum’s collection of pop-up books by Vojtěch Kubašta. The paper “Umelec”(Artist In the Czech language) puts the old-world’s overwhelming charm into the pop-up world. In Florida, unexpectedly, I was back in Prague still remembering the charm of the Old City. The antiquarium where I was buying the 19th century, old human anatomy books with wonderfully illustrated pop-up cut out of organs you can move to see the next layer of the human body. The “Wlasky salad” and “housky” buns I bought in the neighborhood store every morning.

Vojtech Kubasta was able to transfer the charm of the old-world into the pages of his books. For me, it was a sudden transfer into the charming and long-forgotten world.

The language I was able to master enough to start reading books in Czech quickly. Places where everybody wishes you a good day, regardless of if you know anybody there. The strange way the coffee is served and people keep utensils when they are eating. During the fall, the dark sweet cherries I was eating sat among the branches of huge cheery trees in an old palace park—the dark memory of the day I had to leave this newly discovered and charming world behind. After so many years, it still hurts.

Hej, wake up. I have heard the voice of my wife. The curator of the Fort Lauderdale museum asked about the Vojtech Kubasta books’ collection and agreed to show to us, my family, the treasures in his possession. I wish you the same experience.

But please do not go to Prague for the beer-drinking trip. Lucky I was able to enjoy the old city before the era of tourist invasion. There were still old antique cars on the streets, dark cities after sunset, and beer number 10 showing without question automatically up front of every new guest in the local “Wycep” (Pub).

And there was the Soviet Army stationed in some places. My like uniform, denim red dress purchased in Poland, along with an army-style coat, apparently looked like the Royal Canadian Mounties uniform, so soviet soldiers saluted me in the street. I could not believe it. They salute a guy in a strange uniform with very long red hair. Me. The exact opposite of their dull uniforms and depressing ideology.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

The end of the Reign of the Ring Binder. Ringless Binder is born.

Cat 2 video gif

 Friedrich Soennecken inventor of the Ring Binder should certainly wake up from his well-deserved final rest knowing that finally there is something/ somebody good enough to challenge his invention “Ring-binder” 133 years long reign in every office on the earth.

  • To my surprise, the new solution comes not in form of a complicated mechanism but as a single, flexible sheet of material cut a certain way. All rings and metal parts are eliminated. And it works.
  • There is no sticking-out spine always taking the same space on the shelf even if empty. The New Ring-Less Binder is flexible and quite pleasant to handle, the same as the rest of this new family serving the same binding functions.

  • The Challenger says he has ambitions to improve range of products currently on the market. Eliminating the Rings, Spines, prongs etc. His solution simply is simpler. It means less expensive. It means Not welcomed by competition.

This is not the first time the Reign of the Ring is challenged. There are numerous challenges to its rule sponsored by many companies. None of them were successful, lingering on the fringe of the Office market mostly due to the fact that they introduce their own sets of problems.

In the U.S. there is an additional problem with the office market dominated by very few big players. Players with immense financial resources not taking any risks when it comes to the introduction of a product competing with their well-established offerings.

To make things more palatable for inventors the 2011 Leahy–Smith America Invents Act effectively makes U.S. patents worthless and unenforceable by a small player not having financial resources to finance legal challenges.

  • Leahy-Smith’s act (2011 America Invention act) sponsored by Big Tech effectively enables “Efficient Infringement” practiced by already established companies barring entry to the market for eventual startups/competition. Introduced by this legislation PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board ) enjoys well-deserved fame as a ” Patent killing squad” invalidating by own admission 84% of all challenged patents. The effect: Invention exodus to more promising lands already caught politicians’ attention in Congress. 
  • So far, there is no real action to fix things except proposed bills released with misleading titles and preambles and opposite in effect, the rest of the text. Under “Save The Inventor”false flag trying to cement the current situation, benefiting no one except the BIG TECH.
Ring binder
Empty Ring binders. Please notice the space needed to store even the empty one.

If we add the long string of anti-patent rulings by the US Supreme Court, there is no wonder why the US public do not see the latest fruits of technological development we can easily spot in other countries. To learn more about the plight of US inventors please check https://innovationgadfly.com/ & https://usinventor.org/

5 Ring-Less binders by Alfac.us
Ring vs Ring-less
compare Ring-Less with empty Ring binder

Posted on by

Allen and Patty Eckman Paper Sculptures

Papercraft 1

Among the unusual and beautiful Allen and Patty Eckman paper art is in one of the top places.

I was looking for some small sculptures, examples of western art. I stumbled on a striking image showing an Indian boy.

A long time ago,I became a wannabe in this western art field, trying to promote glass Christmas ornaments with western subjects.

  • I was able to sell only glass “Prairie schooners”, Cowboys and their maidens and Stagecoaches, but never any Indian subjects.  
  • Later on, I realized that the reason is well embedded in the American psyche.
  • The deep wounds are still dividing society, more than 100 years after the carnage.
  • It makes native inhabitants unable to accept anything from outside as part of the still-ongoing invasion and, on the other hand, deep denial of the historical facts, denial of the facts of the real and brutal history, and inability to reconcile.

As a naive newcomer, I never realized the deep scars of the American psyche trying to promote a naive propagandistic view of US history.

Authentic art from both sides is the only acceptable line of communication. That’s why we buy Indian jewelry on the side of a highway in Arizona or pottery in South Dakota and that is why I am searching for authentic western art.

It brings certain unspoken truths. If you have a minute, I think you should take a look at their website: https://eckmanfineart.com


 

Posted on by

Graphics3inc.com, Florida and it’s original pop-ups

Santa by Graphics3ink
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship’
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship by Graphics3inc

Years ago, during my annual vacation in Florida, when my family enjoyed the beach, usually I drove around finding interesting things.

One of my trips ended in Jupiter FL. As I discovered at the time, there was a company, Graphics3, producing original (rubber band-powered) pop-up greeting cards.

When I entered the building, there were pallets of huge paper sheets printed with images and ready to cut.

The pleasant crew quickly showed me around. Unfortunately, regardless of my fascination, they were not impressed by my idea to allow me to sell their product.

They specialize in selling Christmas cards to businesses, as you can see on their website. I was so impressed by the quality of their ART. Looking for a product able to replace those lost in the carnage of 2008, my Luna Moth Christmas Ornaments company.

  • Their cards became my inspiration. It was my starting point to try to develop my own pop-up card designs.
  • First, I was only trying to avoid the deteriorating after a year or two rubber bands powering their pop-ups. After some attempts, I was able to come out with an original card not glued but assembled from interconnecting, free moving parts opening itself under pure gravitation force, under the weight of paper the card is made from.
  • Pressed by other activities, first I kept this project on the slow burner, promising myself to go back to this project. Since the gravitation cards are quite interesting and their development aligns with my other invention, I think now is the time to add some more to this pop-up collection.
  • I urge the reader not to settle on the popular “trellis” construction made in China/Vietnam cards but strive to find something higher quality like the Graphics3inc.com cards I here recommend.

You may enjoy our automatic self-opening popups on the paperbee.net pages.

Posted on by

My favorite maker of Popup Cards

Popnrock sample lrg

Are you looking for a neat gift to send to your friends? A company in Great Britain, “SANTORO” developed some quite nice 3-dimensional sculptures made, of course, from Paper. “Swing cards,” “Baubles,” “Piroquettes,” etc. What unusual is the number of new challenging types of construction they attempt to offer to their clients, A gift and card in one? You may be sure that your pop-up gift is not going bo tossed away right after Christmas time. Even better, they may survive the carnage of the coming months and show as decorations on your friend’s Christmas Tree next year.