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APSU's Black Publishes "Paper New York" Book

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. 鈥 When Kell Black, an Austin Peay State University professor of art, was 5 years old, his father brought him a present from the New York World鈥檚 Fair. The gift contained a kit on how to make a medieval village out of paper, and one evening, Black and his father spent hours cutting and gluing together pieces, creating a three-dimensional little town on their kitchen table.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. 鈥 When Kell Black, an Austin Peay State University professor of art, was 5 years old, his father brought him a present from the New York World鈥檚 Fair. The gift contained a kit on how to make a medieval village out of paper, and one evening, Black and his father spent hours cutting and gluing together pieces, creating a three-dimensional little town on their kitchen table.

Today, Black is one of the pre-eminent paper engineers in the country. He published a book last year, 鈥淧aper Chess,鈥 which allowed readers to build their own chess sets by making paper chess pieces designed by Black. Following that book鈥檚 success, the APSU professor is now going back to his roots, but on a grander scale. Rather than a small village, he鈥檚 giving the public the chance to build one of the greatest cities in the world.

Black鈥檚 new book, 鈥淧aper New York: Build Your Own Big Apple,鈥 was recently published by Universe Press and is available now in stores for $19.95. The book offers a three-dimensional tour through New York, allowing readers to build three-dimensional, die-cut models of 20 of the city鈥檚 iconic images.

            鈥淲hat sold the publisher was in addition to all the greats like the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, my editor also wanted me to include little non-architectural descriptions of the city,鈥 Black said. 鈥淎dded extras. She鈥檚 in the UK (United Kingdom) and she suggested a stretch limousine. I said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not very New York. What鈥檚 New York is a hot dog cart.鈥 What really sold the publishers on the book was my choice of the hot dog cart.鈥

            The tricky part about creating paper models of New York City is that many of its landmarks and iconic features, such as that hot dog cart or the Guggenheim Museum, are rather complicated from a design standpoint. With that in mind, Black set himself three rules when engineering his models 鈥 simplify, simplify, simplify.

            鈥淢ake them easy to build,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 designed each one three or four times. I鈥檇 design it first with say 12 pieces. Then I鈥檇 say, 'Ok, design it again, get it down to nine pieces.' Then get it down to six pieces. How can I make these simple and direct? It became a sort of intellectual design exercise.鈥

            The pieces in the book are themselves little works of art. They aren鈥檛 literal replications of New York, but rather dream-like remembrances and idealizations of the city.

            鈥淭hey鈥檙e evocations,鈥 Black said. 鈥淚 had visited all these places. I said, 鈥楲et me just close my eyes and do a quick sketch. What are the five things that I remember from every one?鈥 That鈥檚 how I came up with these.鈥

            Black鈥檚 previous book, 鈥淧aper Chess,鈥 is also still available in bookstores and online at amazon.com. And Black said if 鈥淧aper New York鈥 proves successful, he has ideas for other cities as well.

            For more information on the books or on Black鈥檚 experience as a paper engineer, contact the APSU Department of Art at 221-7333.