Origami: A Vehicle Of Creativity And Innovation
EmPower Research
October 01, 2007
By Guruvardhan J
A schoolteacher in a small town distributed some colorful square sheets of paper to her Class III students. The students were then told to create any form they could imagine. The class fell silent and all that one could hear was the rattling of papers. Suddenly, a boy shrieked victoriously and raised his hand, “I have made it!” he exclaimed. To everyone’s surprise, the boy had rolled the paper into a cone and bellowed, “I am a pirate and this is my telescope!” He was not alone in his creation; many of his friends joined him by creating something out of the piece of paper. Each creation was an image of their personality and thinking ability. The boy had not only made a telescope, but also imagined himself to be a pirate. That is the beauty of creative thinking and here the paper acted only as a means to kindle the hidden talent in him.
History of Paper Art
The art of paper folding begins with the invention of paper. The Chinese were the first to make paper, certainly during the second century AD and perhaps before, but no folded designs have survived from these earliest times. The process of papermaking remained a secret until the Chinese invaded Korea, and later Japan, in 610 AD, after which the knowledge spread westwards towards Asia and the Middle East, eventually reaching Europe in about 1150.
The oldest known designs of folded paper are of Japanese origin. Several dozen designs have survived into the modern era and were important in establishing the basic vocabulary of the art. In Spain, the traditional Pajarita (sparrow), folded from a square had been known for many years.
The Japanese have been folding paper recreationally for at least four hundred years. For the first two hundred of those years, designs were limited to a few basic shapes: boxes, boats, hats, cranes. Folding a thousand cranes—all of white paper, which was the only kind then used—was thought to bring good luck.
In 1837, a German educator, Friedrich Fröbel, introduced the radical idea of early-childhood education—kindergarten. The curriculum included three kinds of paper folding—“The Folds of Truth,” “The Folds of Life,” and “The Folds of Beauty”—to teach children principles of math and art.
Japanese magicians of the time also began doing paper tricks as part of their conjuring. By the 1860s, Japan’s isolationism was ending, and in the following decades those magicians traveled to Europe and the United States to perform.
Performing The Houdini Act
Harry Houdini, one of the greatest magicians, regularly did a trick known as “the troublewit,” turning a piece of paper into an endless number of different shapes without any cuts, amazing his audience. Historian of science, Kathryn Olesko, stated that in the 19th century, the great German optical manufacturer, Zeiss, used paper folding and wire bending exercises to test candidates for its precision mechanics training courses.
Paper folding is not limited for children alone as one can see, after a successful career as a physicist and engineer, during which he authored or co-authored over 80 technical publications and 40 patents on semiconductor lasers, optics and integrated optoelectronics, Origami master Robert Lang, is now a full-time origami artist and author or co-author of eight books and numerous articles on origami. He says, ‘‘The thing that got me hooked on origami all those years ago was the ‘something for nothing' aspect. Hundreds of designs and international accolades later, the former physicist and engineer said he's still taken with that concept, and the fact that ‘‘all you need is a sheet of paper, trash even, and you (don't) need to even buy anything, don't need special tools, and from that you (can) make all these marvelous, different creatures and things. The wonder of the things we can make has grown enormously.''
The relationship between math and origami is symbiotic, Lang says, “Allowing mathematicians to use origami to prove mathematical theorems and vice versa”. For instance, the "Delian Problems" had puzzled even the ancient Greeks, who couldn't trisect an angle, square the circle or double the cube using a compass and unmarked straight edge. The first two problems were solved by scientists using origami in the 1980s.
Origami: Dynamically Artistic
When mathematicians and computer scientists started getting involved in origami in the 1990s, the art form of creating sculpture by simple folds became more dynamic. Lang's own models, many of which are made using the computer program he created called Treemaker, come in many shapes and sizes. For now, the more robust computer program would still be used for artistic origami, rather than industrial applications. Airbags are a prime example of the use of origami, or computational geometry, in industry.
For centuries, origami patterns had at most 30 steps; now they could have hundreds. And as origami became more complex it also became more practical. Scientists began applying these folding techniques to anything—medical, electrical, optical, or nanotechnical devices, and even to strands of DNA—that had a fixed size and shape but needed to be packed tightly and in an orderly way.
Theoretically, any shape can also be created by folding a single sheet of paper with no cuts, no tears. But, Lang says, “The finished product could be microscopic, or it could be as tall as a building.”
Surprisingly, a number of countries have origami organizations. There is a soothing element in the monotony of folding and unfolding. In fact, origami as therapy has its proponents. In 1991, at the Conference on Origami in Education and Therapy, a mental-health professional presented a paper detailing her origami work with prisoners. “The most rewarding of experiences,” she wrote, “was that of observing the effect that Origami had on psychopathic killers.”
There is a cult in Japan called the Origami Detectives, formed by a group of artists engaged in the Bug Wars after one of the detectives displayed what the group’s Web site calls “an incredible secret weapon”—a horned beetle with outspread wings, which he had folded from a single sheet of paper. Even software giant Microsoft had sometime back, codenamed one their Ultra-Mobile PC as “Project Origami”.
Wide Appeal for Origami
Michael LaFosse, a professional paper folder, uses origami to teach hundreds of origami subjects, ranging from cranes, mythology, mathematics, geometry, algebra, biology, zoology and many cultural subjects. He has used origami within lectures on world cultures, music, international geography, geology, organic chemistry, statistical analysis, critical thinking, packaging design, aeronautics, abstract art, architecture, materials evaluation, communication, public speaking. He also uses origami and "Story-Gami" to help teach teachers to teach, and otherwise make their communications more effective.
Some big corporate houses call in professional paper folders to promote critical thinking and innovation. There are modular origami (multi-piece construction) projects appropriate to teach this. Here the participants’ fold multiples of origami unit "puzzle pieces" and assemble them into the final display piece. This helps to understand the need for teamwork management in the employees. This has indeed been received well as the sessions turn out to be a great success.
Today, origami has a wide appeal far removed from its old image as an inconsequential diversion for bored schoolboys. It is used in the media, taught in schools, employed as a therapy for people with damaged hands and is studied by mathematicians and designers. There are many books devoted to the subject and a growing number of courses. A few people even earn their living from origami.
Origami can be used to make a number of things including insects, cups, gift boxes, airplanes, birds and even a butterfly ring as a gift to your loved one.
References:
http://www.langorigami.com
http://www.oriland.com/index.asp
http://www.origami-usa.org/
http://www.tammyyee.com/origami.html
http://www.origami.com/
http://www.paperfolding.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami
A schoolteacher in a small town distributed some colorful square sheets of paper to her Class III students. The students were then told to create any form they could imagine. The class fell silent and all that one could hear was the rattling of papers. Suddenly, a boy shrieked victoriously and raised his hand, “I have made it!” he exclaimed. To everyone’s surprise, the boy had rolled the paper into a cone and bellowed, “I am a pirate and this is my telescope!” He was not alone in his creation; many of his friends joined him by creating something out of the piece of paper. Each creation was an image of their personality and thinking ability. The boy had not only made a telescope, but also imagined himself to be a pirate. That is the beauty of creative thinking and here the paper acted only as a means to kindle the hidden talent in him.
History of Paper Art
The art of paper folding begins with the invention of paper. The Chinese were the first to make paper, certainly during the second century AD and perhaps before, but no folded designs have survived from these earliest times. The process of papermaking remained a secret until the Chinese invaded Korea, and later Japan, in 610 AD, after which the knowledge spread westwards towards Asia and the Middle East, eventually reaching Europe in about 1150.
The oldest known designs of folded paper are of Japanese origin. Several dozen designs have survived into the modern era and were important in establishing the basic vocabulary of the art. In Spain, the traditional Pajarita (sparrow), folded from a square had been known for many years.
The Japanese have been folding paper recreationally for at least four hundred years. For the first two hundred of those years, designs were limited to a few basic shapes: boxes, boats, hats, cranes. Folding a thousand cranes—all of white paper, which was the only kind then used—was thought to bring good luck.
In 1837, a German educator, Friedrich Fröbel, introduced the radical idea of early-childhood education—kindergarten. The curriculum included three kinds of paper folding—“The Folds of Truth,” “The Folds of Life,” and “The Folds of Beauty”—to teach children principles of math and art.
Japanese magicians of the time also began doing paper tricks as part of their conjuring. By the 1860s, Japan’s isolationism was ending, and in the following decades those magicians traveled to Europe and the United States to perform.
Performing The Houdini Act
Harry Houdini, one of the greatest magicians, regularly did a trick known as “the troublewit,” turning a piece of paper into an endless number of different shapes without any cuts, amazing his audience. Historian of science, Kathryn Olesko, stated that in the 19th century, the great German optical manufacturer, Zeiss, used paper folding and wire bending exercises to test candidates for its precision mechanics training courses.
Paper folding is not limited for children alone as one can see, after a successful career as a physicist and engineer, during which he authored or co-authored over 80 technical publications and 40 patents on semiconductor lasers, optics and integrated optoelectronics, Origami master Robert Lang, is now a full-time origami artist and author or co-author of eight books and numerous articles on origami. He says, ‘‘The thing that got me hooked on origami all those years ago was the ‘something for nothing' aspect. Hundreds of designs and international accolades later, the former physicist and engineer said he's still taken with that concept, and the fact that ‘‘all you need is a sheet of paper, trash even, and you (don't) need to even buy anything, don't need special tools, and from that you (can) make all these marvelous, different creatures and things. The wonder of the things we can make has grown enormously.''
The relationship between math and origami is symbiotic, Lang says, “Allowing mathematicians to use origami to prove mathematical theorems and vice versa”. For instance, the "Delian Problems" had puzzled even the ancient Greeks, who couldn't trisect an angle, square the circle or double the cube using a compass and unmarked straight edge. The first two problems were solved by scientists using origami in the 1980s.
Origami: Dynamically Artistic
When mathematicians and computer scientists started getting involved in origami in the 1990s, the art form of creating sculpture by simple folds became more dynamic. Lang's own models, many of which are made using the computer program he created called Treemaker, come in many shapes and sizes. For now, the more robust computer program would still be used for artistic origami, rather than industrial applications. Airbags are a prime example of the use of origami, or computational geometry, in industry.
For centuries, origami patterns had at most 30 steps; now they could have hundreds. And as origami became more complex it also became more practical. Scientists began applying these folding techniques to anything—medical, electrical, optical, or nanotechnical devices, and even to strands of DNA—that had a fixed size and shape but needed to be packed tightly and in an orderly way.
Theoretically, any shape can also be created by folding a single sheet of paper with no cuts, no tears. But, Lang says, “The finished product could be microscopic, or it could be as tall as a building.”
Surprisingly, a number of countries have origami organizations. There is a soothing element in the monotony of folding and unfolding. In fact, origami as therapy has its proponents. In 1991, at the Conference on Origami in Education and Therapy, a mental-health professional presented a paper detailing her origami work with prisoners. “The most rewarding of experiences,” she wrote, “was that of observing the effect that Origami had on psychopathic killers.”
There is a cult in Japan called the Origami Detectives, formed by a group of artists engaged in the Bug Wars after one of the detectives displayed what the group’s Web site calls “an incredible secret weapon”—a horned beetle with outspread wings, which he had folded from a single sheet of paper. Even software giant Microsoft had sometime back, codenamed one their Ultra-Mobile PC as “Project Origami”.
Wide Appeal for Origami
Michael LaFosse, a professional paper folder, uses origami to teach hundreds of origami subjects, ranging from cranes, mythology, mathematics, geometry, algebra, biology, zoology and many cultural subjects. He has used origami within lectures on world cultures, music, international geography, geology, organic chemistry, statistical analysis, critical thinking, packaging design, aeronautics, abstract art, architecture, materials evaluation, communication, public speaking. He also uses origami and "Story-Gami" to help teach teachers to teach, and otherwise make their communications more effective.
Some big corporate houses call in professional paper folders to promote critical thinking and innovation. There are modular origami (multi-piece construction) projects appropriate to teach this. Here the participants’ fold multiples of origami unit "puzzle pieces" and assemble them into the final display piece. This helps to understand the need for teamwork management in the employees. This has indeed been received well as the sessions turn out to be a great success.
Today, origami has a wide appeal far removed from its old image as an inconsequential diversion for bored schoolboys. It is used in the media, taught in schools, employed as a therapy for people with damaged hands and is studied by mathematicians and designers. There are many books devoted to the subject and a growing number of courses. A few people even earn their living from origami.
Origami can be used to make a number of things including insects, cups, gift boxes, airplanes, birds and even a butterfly ring as a gift to your loved one.
References:
http://www.langorigami.com
http://www.oriland.com/index.asp
http://www.origami-usa.org/
http://www.tammyyee.com/origami.html
http://www.origami.com/
http://www.paperfolding.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami
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