Paper Folding

Just had to pass along a fascinating documentary I watched on Independent Lens this week called Between The Folds by director Vanessa Gould. It is about modern origami. I have to say I was a bit shocked that I enjoyed this film so much. I was blown away by what these current origami artists are doing.

Works by Eric Joisel

Vincent Floderer

When the artists were asked about who they looked to for inspiration they all spoke of Akira Yoshizawa. He seemed to be the grandaddy of modern origami. His work that was published in the 1950s is said to have spread the word about origami on a global level.

"Gorilla" by Akira Yoshizawa

I've never tried origami myself. I've thought about it several times though. The main appeal to me is the pretty papers that come in the kits. In the film they even touch on an artist who makes special origami paper. This was very cool to watch.

Besides all the cool paper, it was just amazing how these artists could fold a piece of paper, sometimes 1000s of times, and come up with these beautiful pieces. It was well beyond the basic butterfly or frog. However, let's not discredit the simple origami designs either. Some of my faves from this program were the pieces that would have fewer folds.

For more information on this program and to check your local listing check out visit www.pbs.org/independentlens/between-the-folds/history.html.

Ciao for now,
Figgy