Julie Chen has created hundreds of books throughout her career, but she's not a traditional author. Instead, Chen is a renowned book artist who transforms the conventional idea of what a book can be. "Book art really is about using the book form, in all its various iterations, as an art medium. The way someone might make art film or sculpture or a print," Chen explained to Wisconsin Public Radio's Wisconsin Today program.

Chen's innovative approach requires active participation from readers, who must engage with her creations in ways that go far beyond simply turning pages. "The reader really has to interact with the book in various ways," she noted. "They're not just turning pages but doing other actions in order to find the content." Her artistic books typically feature moveable structures, three-dimensional elements, and unexpected conclusions, telling compelling stories with minimal text.

As an internationally recognized book artist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chen has been publishing limited edition artists' books under her Flying Fish Press imprint for more than three decades. Her exceptional work has earned placement in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Library of Congress and London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Local art enthusiasts can experience Chen's pieces firsthand at the Kohler Art Library in Madison, where visitors can view and interact with her creations with assistance from librarians.

Chen makes a clear distinction between "book art" and "book arts," explaining that the latter refers to traditional craftsmanship techniques like printing, binding, and papermaking. Book art, however, transforms the book itself into artwork. "Rather than a book being the thing that houses text, the book is the sculpture or the painting," she clarified. This philosophy drives her highly interactive creations that challenge readers to become active participants in the artistic experience.

One of Chen's most powerful recent works, "A Monument to What Remains," draws inspiration from a deeply personal experience at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. While observing the names of fallen soldiers etched into the memorial, Chen reflected on a friend who survived Vietnam but developed post-traumatic stress disorder. "I'm thinking, 'Well, where is his monument? He served his country. He didn't die. But his life was affected,'" she recalled.

The interactive piece begins with two large boxes containing six narrow accordion-style books printed with large, 2-inch type. The text includes profound statements such as "This is a monument to the fragility of memory" and "We honor those who were unthanked and unnamed." The work progresses to address other concepts that typically lack memorialization, including emotions and persistence. The piece also includes a set of acrylic discs that readers can stack to create their own personalized monument, giving them control over how words and phrases are displayed and experienced.

Chen's current project represents an ambitious exploration into the world of 19th-century paper engineering master Lothar Meggendorfer, who created hundreds of moveable and pop-up books featuring some of the most sophisticated mechanisms ever developed in the genre. Meggendorfer's innovations included single pull tabs that activated multiple levers, creating complex animated illustrations that captivated readers of his era.

With support from University of Wisconsin-Madison grants, Chen purchased several original Meggendorfer books to study their intricate mechanics. She meticulously reverse-engineered these historical mechanisms to understand how the pieces moved and what mechanisms operated behind the pages to create the moveable illustrations. This research forms the foundation for her upcoming work titled "Endless Machine," a contemporary moveable pop-up book that will focus on "levers of power."

"It's a kind of reflection about where we are right now in the political situation and how there's so many hidden forces that are shaping the world we live in," Chen explained about her work-in-progress. The piece represents her artistic interpretation of contemporary power structures and the often-invisible influences that shape modern society. Chen anticipates completing "Endless Machine" next year, adding another innovative creation to her already impressive portfolio that continues to redefine the boundaries between literature and visual art.