Many people around the world have heard the story of Sadako Sasaki, the Japanese atomic bombing victim who folded a thousand paper cranes with the hope of being granted a wish for a cure to her leukemia.
Although paper cranes are a staple of origami, the Louisiana Art and Science Museum’s exhibit “Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami” shows the dynamic nature of the evolving art form and its applications in modern day science.
“You think of origami and you think of folded paper cranes,” said Douglas Kennedy, the museum’s communication coordinator. “But it’s a whole lot more than that. It’s become its own art form. You wouldn’t think that origami would be used in airbags, heart stents, space telescopes, but it has been.”
The exhibit is divided into four sections with each focusing on a specific aspect of origami: its history, forms and figures, mathematical elements and modern applications.
Beginning with a historical approach, the first pieces represent the traditional approach to origami, which originated in Japan as “gift decor” or “paper wrappings” said the museum’s collections manager Lexi Guillory.
One of the early stars of the exhibit is one of Sasaki’s own cranes, which is incredibly small and a representation of the variation necessary in her situation.
“She did [it] with whatever she could — candy wrappers, regular size sheets of paper,” Guillory said. “When you need to fold a thousand cranes in a hospital, you just fold with what you’ve got.”
After Sasaki’s crane, the exhibit moves into a portrayal of the complexity of modern origami with the work of Akira Yoshizawa, who is considered the father of modern day origami, by pushing the limits of the art beyond its traditional symbolism.
“He made big strides,” Guillory said. “He gave us a way to say, ‘Can I fold an origami brain, a velociraptor or a moose?’ To think of origami as a more versatile art.”
The complexity of the modern forms requires different processes to complete each piece, Guillory said. Some artists make all of the creases in the paper like an outline before beginning to fold while other objects require an artist to fold a piece in different sections.
Another difference between ancient and modern origami is the modern focus on avoiding any cuts to the paper.
Another section of the exhibit is dedicated to origami with mathematical focus, which features intricate geometric or organic
designs of modular origami.
The final part displays the modern technological uses of origami, which features everything from heart stents to the design of car airbags.
“You think [the airbag] is just in the dashboard, but no,” Guillory said. “There is an actual principle behind how it fits in there and how it expands so that it safely comes to you.”
Although the majority of the exhibit is made of international pieces to show the variety of the form on a worldwide stage, the inclusion of works by local artists John Hu and Kao Hwa Sze brings a local touch along with an interactive origami folding station.
You can reach Morgan Prewitt on Twitter @kmprewitt_TDR.
