Carol Barton (born 3 June 1954) is a book artist, paper engineer, curator, and educator known for her series of interactive workbooks, ''The Pocket Paper Engineer''. Barton is the proprietor of ''Popular Kinetics Press'' and has published several editions of artist books.

Early life and education

Barton was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She earned her BFA in 1976 from St. Louis School of Fine Arts at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, and graduated as a painting major.

Career

After moving Washington, D.C., in 1977, Barton was hired as an arts administrator at the Glen Echo Park Arts Center. The Writers’ Center, a resident organization formed by graduates of

Visual Studies Workshop Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to art education based in Rochester, New York, in the Susan B. Anthony House, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood. VSW supports makers and interpreters of images through education, pu ...

in Rochester, New York, presented Barton's first exposure to the book arts. When The Writers’ Center received a grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

to produce twenty artists’ books, Barton was invited as a participant in the project. She welcomed the opportunity to explore the book form as an artistic medium. Barton's first book, ''Beyond the Page'' (1981), was produced with use of die cuts and she found it to be a trying experience. She was prepared to abandon her work in the book arts until two things happened: She experienced success when her edition of ''Beyond the Page'' sold out and she was exposed by a friend to an early Italian ''Sleeping Beauty'' carousel book. She became enthralled with the concept that a book could be both sculptural and mechanical. Fueled by her renewed interest in the book arts, Barton embarked on a two-year study of movable and pop-up books, which began at the Smithsonian's Dibner Rare Book Library. She traveled to libraries and collections across the United States where she discovered a wide variety of books utilizing sculptural formats and uncommon engineering techniques. As she began to better understand the materials and methods used in the construction of these books, Barton began compiling ideas for the production of her own editions of artist books. One result of her research was that Barton is credited with reestablishing the tunnel book as a book structure The tunnel format was used in tourist souvenirs and commemorative books as early as the mid-18th century. Barton started teaching in 1983 at the

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Pyramid Atlantic Art Center (PAAC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit contemporary arts center specializing in papermaking, printmaking, and book arts. They are currently located at 4318 Gallatin Street in Hyattsville, Maryland. History The PAAC was f ...

. Through many years of teaching, Barton found that the best way for students to learn paper engineering techniques was through direct, hands-on experience. It was this knowledge that inspired the creation of her workbook series on pop-up design and construction, ''The Pocket Paper Engineer''. Barton continues to teach as a faculty member of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and in classrooms around the world. Barton's work has been published in many publications and exhibited internationally. She was awarded an artist' book residency grant from

Women's Studio Workshop Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) is a nonprofit visual arts studio and private press offering residencies and educational workshops, located in Rosendale, New York, United States. The workshop was founded in 1974 by Ann Kalmbach, Tatana Kellner, ...

in 1988 which resulted in two artist's books. International residencies Barton has been awarded include: the Bogliasco Foundation in Italy, the Sacatar Foundation in Brazil, the Moulin a Nef Studios in Auvillar, France, and the GilsfjordurArts Studios in Iceland. She was the first Dorothy Liskey Wampler Distinguished Art Professorship visiting scholar at James Madison University Special Collections. Her work is in many collections, including The National Museum of Women in the Arts, The

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

, The Center for the Book Arts, The

Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London. Barton also produces children's books under the ''World of Wishes'' (Scholastic Canada Ltd) theme. Barton's archives are held at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

Libraries Special Collections.

Bibliography

*Barton, Carol (1981)
''Beyond the Page''
Popular Kinetics Press *Barton, Carol (1986), ''Small Gardens'', Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1988)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1988)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1989)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1990), ''Rhythmic Notes on Seven Folds'', Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1991)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1993)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1994), ''A Journal of One's Own: A Handcrafting Kit.'' Running Press, 1994. *Barton, Carol (1997)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (1998)

Borowsky Center *Barton, Carol (1999) ''Mermaid Wishes'', Scholastic Canada Ltd., ISBN 9-780439935357 *Barton, Carol (2001)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (2003)

Popular Kinetics Press. *Barton, Carol (2005), ''The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume I: Basic Forms: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step'', Popular Kinetics Press, *Barton, Carol (2007) ''Pony Wishes'', Scholastic Canada Ltd., ISBN 9780439935661 *Barton, Carol (2008), ''The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2: Platforms and Props: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step'', Popular Kinetics Press,

References

External links

*
Beyond the Page: Carol Barton's Art and Influence: a podcast with Carol Barton and the Nashville Public LibraryInterview with Carol Barton
via Santa Fe Radio Cafe {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Carol 1954 births Living people 21st-century American women American art curators American women artists American women curators American book artists Pop-up book artists Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni American women book artists

Early life and education

Career

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links