The Origami Revolution (Event 1)

 

  

Collection of work from Origami Artist Robert J Lang. 

Origami is a challenging project to follow along, let alone construct on your own with sparse reference to the object of interest (ex. bear, crane, spider). While origami poses a difficult series of multiple layers and folding, the basic principle of origami revolves around simple geometrical shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and circles. Nova’s documentary, “The Origami Revolution”, highlights a fascinating, and even frustrating, aspect about geometry. After observing the natural world, it is stunning how nature seamlessly and consistently creates geometric wonders in objects such as a budding flower or an insect’s unfurling wings. Nature easily designs beautiful patterns that attribute to survival and proper functioning, and no external force has to tell the plant’s leaf to build a miura ori fold in order to expand in an energetically conservative fashion. Moreover, nature rarely forms defected items, and its near perfect record allows life on earth to thrive.

Origami crane (left).  Tomohiro Tachi's teapot (right).

This observation and truth about nature reveals how incredibly frustrating it is for humans to accomplish a similar natural phenomena. Origami patterns have the potential to become very complex with the introduction of computer aid. Without computer assistance, people have managed to fold certain shapes like the traditional origami crane. With the help of algorithms, researchers like Robert Lang, Tomohiro Tachi, and Erik Demainehave have programmed computers to guide folding patterns on unassuming square papers that shape shift into hyper-realistic sculptures. Without extensive knowledge of engineering and geometry, not to mention dexterity, the average human cannot come close to mimicking nature’s fundamental skill in geometry. 

Freeform Origami. Tomohiro Tachi. 2010.

Erik Demaine (BSc’95). 2018.

I am quite fascinated by origami, but I lack the patience for folding precise lines on a single sheet of square paper. That is why I’ve practiced another form of origami orientation called 3D origami. This type of craft is like building with Legos; each triangular shape is folded through one method and does not require absolute precision to build something cute.

Ankhang Homemade. 3D origami (2018).

Sources:

Ankhang Homemade. 3D origami image of Christmas bear. 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DdbOmeKskc 

Collection of work from Origami Artist Robert J Lang. OWEN. 2012. https://the189.com/sculpture/collection-of-work-from-origami-artist-robert-j-lang/ 

Erik Demaine (BSc’95). Dalhousie Originals. 2018. https://alumni.dal.ca/dalhousie-originals/erik-demaine-bsc95/

Nova. The Origami Revolution Documentary. 2018. https://vimeo.com/250448152

Origami Teapot, Tomohiro Tachi, Japan, 2006, L:40 cm. http://www.giladorigami.com/Tikotin/MA_Tachi.html