Between the Folds

By JESSE KORNBLUTH

Origami… why? Because: Lucian Truscott reports: “So far this year, 639 people have been killed in mass shootings. More than 2,500 were wounded. During the month of November alone, there have been 35 mass shootings, with a total of 185 people shot with a firearm, and 49 of them killed.” As someone wise has noted, we’re not shocked and grieving — we’re traumatized. If Butler can do anything to help you heal, it’s to point to culture that helps you to look up from your shoes. So for at least for the next few days… beauty and inspiration. Starting here…

One piece of paper. Folded. No cuts.

On a rainy day when you were a kid, you made a bird.

Now?

Please. You have put away childish things. Fine. But I urge you to consider “Between the Folds,” a 60-minute documentary that profiles the world’s greatest origami artists. And not for the origami. For the artists. For the inspiration.

What these gents do with a single piece of paper — for once, the word “mind-blowing” is an accurate description. Because if someone can take an uncut paper square and turn it into a figure so complex that collectors line up to buy it… well, we’re not talking about a little bird that flaps its wings anymore, are we? Watch the trailer.

“Between the Folds,” from first-time director Vanessa Gould, takes us to the intersection of engineering, mathematics and art — a place so challenging only very special people can go there. Or would want to, because a single piece of this kind of origami can take hundreds of hours to invent, refine and, finally, create. The result: jaw-dropping beauty. [To stream the movie on Amazon Prime, click here.]

As I watched this documentary, many of the origami artists — and two in particular — fascinated me, inspired me and more: They almost convinced me that examples can encourage us to see if we can be more creative.

Start with Erik Demaine. A child prodigy. Home schooled. Started college at 12, graduated at 14. He was 20 when he joined the MIT faculty — the youngest professor in its history. Winner of a MacArthur “genius” award? Of course. This is why:

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Paper folds itself into a natural equilibrium form depending on its creases. These equilibria are poorly understood, especially for curved creases. We are exploring what shapes are possible in this genre of self-folding origami, with applications to deployable structures, manufacturing, and self-assembly. This transformation of flat paper into swirling surfaces creates sculpture that feels alive.

Eric Joisel tragically died in 2010, at 53. He was a more accessible genius: French, with a continental appreciation of the absurd. His figures were wry, expressive, one of a kind. They were also so complex, so lifelike, that he often needed very large pieces of paper: a rectangle measuring more than 15 feet by 25 feet. Musicians, barbarians, Renaissance actors – his figures were less than a foot high, but their detail was exacting. No wonder it took him as long as five years to design some of them.

You watch these men work. You see their commitment. You gasp at how much they can create with so little. And, if you’re like me, you walk around for a few days afterward with fresh eyes, looking for a way to make your contribution. Or just appreciating the rich possibilities around you.

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This post was previously published on headbutler.com.

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