[531] Robert Sabuda’s art ‘pops up’ at MTSU’s Walker Library through August

MURFREESBORO — The brilliantly whimsical world of pop-up books is on exhibit at MTSU’s James E. Walker Library through August.

“Virtuoso: The Art of Robert Sabuda,” a dazzling display of imagination for all ages, is available for viewing from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the library’s fourth floor Special Collections area. A printable parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

For the past 25 years, Sabuda has created three-dimensional versions of timeless stories that literally spring to life as the reader turns each page. His pop-up renditions of classic tales include “The Movable Mother Goose,” “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

In addition, his pop-up stylings of “America the Beautiful,” “The White House: A Pop-up of Our Nation’s Home,” and “Sea Island Pops Up” help put the exquisite beauty of the United States into children’s hands.

“We wanted to focus an exhibit on Sabuda for the simple reasons that he’s both very widely known and probably the very best pop-up book artist in the world,” said Alan Boehm, special collections librarian.

Sabuda, who calls his work “paper engineering,” has expanded his repertoire into the designing of pop-up greeting cards and paper-doll houses. He uses materials like Mylar, foil and string, in addition to paper.

The Sabuda exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the James E. Walker Library at 615-898-2817 or go to http://library.mtsu.edu/specialcollections.php.