Creating Accordion Books in East Asian History and Now
In this workshop we’ll look at examples of accordion books—which are made by folding long sheets of with a cover attached — in a quick tour of their uses in East Asian history. Known as orihon in Japan, accordion books became a popular form for paintings and woodblock prints, for combining text with images, and for journals.
Innovations by creators of Japanese folding screen paintings and recent artists globally provide inspiration to think through 3D space, and between part to whole/front to back. We’ll explore some of the 20th century and contemporary creative applications of the format. Its simplicity allows for endless variations!
Participants will follow along and learn how to fold a book and attach a cover, and how to add design elements as time allows. Along the way, they will share thoughts on their use with students. We will share in advance a list of materials with paper dimensions that participants will need to bring to the workshop.