MODERN ORIGAMI

IAN KOSS - MARCH 26, 2015, EVANS LIBRARY

1

What is origami?

Origami

The ancient Japanese

Art of Paper Folding

NOT EXACTLY.

TIMELINE
I. TRADITIONAL ORIGAMI
5

105 AD, CHINA LET THERE BE PAPER!

BECAUSE PLAYING ROCK-SCISSORS IS DUMB
6

6TH CENTURY PAPER COMES TO JAPAN

VIA KOREA AND A BUDDHIST MONK, AS LEGEND TELLS
7

751 AD, SAMARKAND PAPER GOES WEST

NO LONGER A SECRET
8

15TH - 17TH CENTURY FOLDING IN EUROPE

FIRST PRINTED REFERENCE (DISPUTED), GERMAN GODPARENTS, AND FANCY NAPKINS
9

18TH - 19TH CENTURY FOLDING IN JAPAN

INSTRUCTIONS NOW AVAILABLE
10

1782 FRIEDREICH FRBEL BORN IN GERMANY

GAVE KINDERGARTEN ITS GERMAN NAME
11

1868 MEIJI RESTORATION

JAPAN WAKES UP, REALIZES THE TIME
12

This Winter, a lady of my

acquaintance taught me how to
make cockerels by folding paper
... so that when you pull their
tails they flap their wings. This
invention comes from Japan.

1896, RUSSIA TOLSTOY MAKES IT OFFICIAL

WHAT IS ART?
13

TIMELINE
II. POPULAR ORIGAMI
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1911 AKIRA YOSHIZAWA BORN IN JAPAN

ORIGAMI MASTER AND DOOR-T0-DOOR CONDIMENT SALESMAN
15

1945 GERSHON LEGMAN BREAKS HIS ANKLE

IRONIC, GIVEN HIS LAST NAME
16

1965, UNITED KINGDOM ROBERT HARBINS PAPER MAGIC IS PUBLISHED

SO BEGINS A PROLIFIC CAREER
17

1970 THE RON RESCH PAPER AND STICK FILM

AVAILABLE IN ITS ENTIRETY ON VIMEO
18

ORIGAMI TIMELINE
III. MODERN ORIGAMI
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1980-89 JOHN MONTROLL (US) / JUN MAEKAWA (JAPAN)

COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES BUT REMAINING ON THE PAPER
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EARLY 1990S THE BUG WARS

A LITTLE COMPETITION NEVER HURT ANYONE
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ROBERT J. LANG
NOT THE HOCKEY PLAYER
22

THE INTERNET
MAKING IT HAPPEN EVERYWHERE AT ONCE
23

ORIGAMI TODAY
HOW WERE FOLDING OUR PAPER
24

WET FOLDING
IT EVENTUALLY DRIES
25

MODULAR
MAKING SOMETHING BIG OUT OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF LITTLE
26

TESSELLATIONS
TRY REPEATING YOURSELF
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CORRUGATIONS
BACK AND FORTH AND BACK
28

COMPUTATIONAL
REAL PAPERS ABOUT HYPOTHETICAL PAPER
29

EXPERIMENTAL
DO FOLDS HAVE TO BE STRAIGHT?
30

THE FUTURE
WHAT DOES IT FOLD?
31

Sources
David Lister, Old European Origami

Folders

Origami Resource Center, History of Origami

The Ron Resch Paper and Stick Film

Nick Robinson, Notes on the History of Origami

John Montroll

Koshiro Hatori, History of Origami

Robert J. Lang

John Smith, Notes on the History of Origami

Chris Palmer

David Lister, The History of Paperfolding: A

German Perspective

Joel Cooper

Origami Tanteidan, The History of Origami in

Japan
David Mitchell, A brief outline of origami design
history
Joseph Wu, Origami: A Brief History of the Ancient
Art of Paperfolding
Selections from G. Legman's The Limerick
Computer World, Computational Origami

Eric Gjerde
Erik Demaine

Photo Credits
1. Rhombicosadodecahedron
(Koss, photo by John Sluder)

19. Stegosaurus (Montroll), Rhinoceros (Montroll),

Peacock (Maekawa)

3. Traditional origami crane

21. Titan Beetle (Kato), Brown Widow (Lang),

Cyclommatus Metalifer (Kamiya)

5, 14, 20. Tsuki, Bird Nest (Yoshizawa),

Corrugation (Koss)
6. Ancient Paper Mill, Making Paper
7. Shakyamuni Triad Horyuji
8. Shah-i Zinda, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
9. Fancy Napkin Fold, Patenbrief, De Sphaera
10. Ranma Zushiki, Senbazuru Orikata
11. Friedrich Frbel
12. Meiji Joukyou
13. Leo Tolstoy
15. Akira Yoshizawa
17. Robert Harbin, Downhill Skier
18. The Ron Resch Paper and Stick Film

22. Treemaker Software, Cuckoo Clock (Lang)

24. Mens et Manus (Chan), Mask (Cooper), Tiki Tower
(Koss, photo by John Sluder)
25. Cat (Quyet), Tribute to Eric Joisel, Cheval (Diaz)
26. Geodesic (Koss), Swan, Menger Sponge
27. Basket Weave (Gjerde), Moorish Stars (Gjerde), Mask
in progress (Cooper)
28. Wave 24 (Lang), Bridges (Severova/Russo), Trunk
(Terehov)
29. Erik Demaine, Origami Constructible Numbers
(Demaine), Miura Ori Metamaterials
30. Curved Folds (Albers/Tee)
31. USS Enterprise (Cahoonas)