(Note: this entry is to make up for my missing the first class. I registered late.)
Currently, the Japanese American National Museum, in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo, has a jaw-dropping exhibit on origami. “Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami” runs until August 26, 2012.
A little history: During the 6th century, paper was introduced into Japan by Buddhist monks. Paper, invented in China, was very scarce, so the Japanese probably began this art form in religious ceremonies. Then, origami became as a hobby among the royals. By the 17th century, “much of the population was folding paper” and the mazing animals, birds, boxes were also appearing in 19th century Europe.
The exhibit, of course, contains the familiar shapes, like the crane – and references the true story of the girl Sadako, who folded 1,000 cranes hoping to ward off the after affects of the Hiroshima atomic bomb -- but then, be prepared to be utterly amazed. Japanese, as well as Russian, Italian, British, Israeli , and American artists have created evening gowns, double headed eagles, masks, and architecture from folded (often wetted first) paper. One gown by Linda Mihara was only one(!) entire piece of parchment paper with no cuts(!!) My favorite was the swarm of locust, made from $1 bills, representing the attack of large corporations that greedily take over and then discard small businesses, aptly named “The Plague”. By the range of contributors, the Japanese origami art form has inspired artists from all around the globe.
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