Colette Fu
| Colette Fu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Princeton, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American Chinese |
| Education |
Rochester Institute of Technology, Fine Art Photography Virginia Commonwealth University Yunnan Nationalities University University of Virginia |
| Occupation | Book artist, paper engineer, artist, photographer, teacher |
| Awards | Fulbright Scholarship, Leeway Transformation Award, En Foco New Award, Puffin Foundation Artist Grant, Society of Photographic Education Achievement Scholarship, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Artist Fellowship |
| Website | colettefu |
Rochester Institute of Technology, Fine Art Photography Virginia Commonwealth University Yunnan Nationalities University
Colette Fu is a photographer, book artist and paper engineer based in Philadelphia, PA who makes pop-up books from her photographs. She is also a writer and teacher, teaching pop-up courses and community workshops with marginalized populations at various art centers, universities and institutions internationally. Her large-scale, three-dimensional pop-up books feature photographic images which extend towards the viewer for many layers. During an artist residency in Shanghai, Fu designed China's largest pop-up book. Her pop-up and flap books originally illustrated sociological ideas and scientific principles; she constructs her own books on how our selves relate to society today. In 2008, Fu was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to create pop-up book of the 25 ethnic minorities residing in Yunnan Province, China, from where the artist's family descends. 25 of 55 minority tribes of China reside in the Yunnan and comprise less than 9% of the nation's population, with the Han representing the majority. She uses her artistic skills to spread knowledge and provide a brief portrait of their existence.
Fu, who grew up in New Jersey, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Fu traveled to China with a student tour and stayed for three years teaching English and, later, studying the Chinese language. During her last year, Fu traveled throughout Yunnan, where her mother, member of the Yi community, was born, photographing various people in ethnic dress. After returning the United States, Fu studied photography at Virginia Commonwealth University and Rochester Institute of Technology, where she began collaging images into detailed hyperreal fantasy scenarios.
Fu's well-received pop-up book series include:
Fu's commercial clients for paper engineering have included Louis Vuitton, Vogue China, Canon Asia and Children's Medical Center in Texas. Fu's books are in collections including Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Museum of Women in the Arts.
On a visit to her local Borders Book Store, Fu stumbled onto a Robert Sabuda pop-up book and was instantly enamored. Fu then learned paper engineering mechanics by reverse engineering pop-up books purchased on eBay while attending numerous artist residencies.
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Wikipedia