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Interviews, photos and video: Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit 'Into the Fold' reveals 'The Art and Science of Origami'
Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami," features a wide array of origami creations. [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Artist Eric Gjerde employed an estimated 19,000-plus folds and about a month's worth of time folding to create his 80-foot-long "Dragon Helix" on view in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"Boy Riding Water Buffalo" by Nguyen Hung Cuong, made of handmade paper and metal wire, is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"8.8.4.B. Resch Tessellation" (2010) by Robert J. Lang is made from on one uncut sheet of elephant hide paper. Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]
A version of this story appears in the Sunday Life section of The Oklahoman.
'Into the Fold' New exhibit unfurls 'The Art and Science of Origami'
When most people think of origami, they probably conjure up mental pictures of paper flowers, stars and those familiar cranes.
They probably don't think of intricate masks crafted from singular pieces of paper, of a series of sinuously curved sculptures or of an 80-foot-long dragon-like form creeping along a wall.
So, Scott Henderson is expecting many people to be surprised when they venture into Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibition "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami."
"Origami has always fascinated me. I've dabbled with it but never been very good at it. But researching, I came across some pretty fascinating pieces that I didn't think were ever possible," said Henderson, director of the museum's second-floor smART Space galleries.
"You can see applications in math and science, fashion, architecture. It's a pretty wide gamut."
The new exhibit features more than 100 origami pieces from nearly 30 artists from around the world, including several who have achieved global renown.
"Most people think of the traditional (origami) that you get in a book: you know, how to fold a crane, how to fold a bird or a flower or a star. And a lot of people aren't familiar with the reaches that these can go to, the mathematics and the calculations that go into these amazing creations," Henderson said.
"All these folds, they have mathematical computations," he added. "A lot of these mathematicians and artists have come up with ways, these folding patterns, to really create any object that you can think of, just by folding a single piece of paper. That takes a lot of math."
Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami" features several of fashion designer Adrienne Sack's "Fashionable Paper Hats." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"Master Peace, double small" by Kevin and Jennifer Box is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]
Scientific applications
Origami is defined as the art of paper folding, and it's is often associated with Japanese culture, since the term itself is taken from the Japanese words "ori," which means "to fold," and "kami," which means "paper." Nowadays, "origami" has become the broad term for all folding practices all over the world.
"For a lot of these artists, it doesn't even trace back to Japan. It's like the word is Japanese, but it's become so much bigger," said Alyson Atchison, assistant curator for "Into the Fold."
And the applications go well beyond just the arts, with scientists using origami to design new drugs, micro-robots and even foldable paper lithium-ion batteries. The "Nova" documentary "The Origami Revolution," which aired on PBS last year, details many of the ways that the centuries-old art form is influencing high-tech discoveries, and the film is playing in the gallery throughout the exhibit's run.
"A lot of the artists involved are mathematicians and scientists themselves, such as Robert Lang, who is kind of the grandmaster of origami. Many of these other artists, they all look up to him. He's even worked for NASA. He's helped develop airbag technologies, optic lens technologies and solar sails for satellites in space," Henderson said.
"They're finding that even on the microbiological level, proteins actually fold, so they're studying the foldings of these proteins because if they can figure out these folding patterns of proteins, they can recreate them to attack HIV and cancer. There's a whole bunch of medical applications."
The OKC exhibit includes a number of Lang's origami pieces, as well as works by other world-renowned origami makers, including wildlife biologist Bernie Peyton, father-and-son MIT faculty members Martin and Erik Demaine and professional artist Paul Jackson.
Some visitors may even question whether the Demaines' beautiful rounded paper creations are actually origami, but they're actually a particular kind called "curved-crease sculptures."
Erik Demaine, who at age 20 became the youngest professor ever hired at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, did his dissertation on mathematical origami, describing an algorithm that could determine how to fold a piece of paper into any conceivable 3-D shape.
"He got the Macarthur 'genius grant' for figuring that out when he was 22 years old." Atchison said, adding that the Martin Demaine, an artist who homeschooled his son, is now an artist in residence at MIT who collaborates with him on their origami pieces. "It's definitely a different take on origami."
Oklahoma City artist Zephyr Andrews' untitled piece is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami," features a wide array of origami creations. [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"Fish," by Beth Johnson, is part of Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]
Polar bears and handbags
Although his pair of paper polar bears are adorable, Atchison said Peyton has a higher mission with his origami artwork.
"He uses origami to bring attention to the conservation of wildlife, so polar bears are in trouble right now, that's what he's folding because he uses it to engage people," she said. "When I came on, I found there was kind of a lack of female origami artists … and they were kind of tough to find. Bernie had actually co-curated an exhibition with Uyen Nguyen, the engineer and designer, so I asked him for help identifying some female artists. And he came back with a very thorough list."
The New York-based Nguyen collaborated with another of the exhibit's female creatives, women's wear designer Lea Freni, to develop custom-folded textiles, handbags and accessories. The origami-inspired collection includes a folded skirt that can change silhouettes with a folding pattern based on a Fibonacci sequence, which allows it to collapse into a neat, compact spiral, and geometric leather handbags that can change volume and shape based on the needs of the person carrying them.
Although they're not necessarily made to wear, Lawrence, Kansas-based artist Joel Cooper uses a single piece of paper and a weeklong multi-step process to create elaborate masks.
"He has no preplanned form before he goes in. He kind of just free-forms it and comes up with this amazing sculpture," Henderson said. "He does this all by hand. … If you saw this and you didn't know it's origami, you wouldn't think it's origami. You'd think maybe it was just woven paper or pushed onto a mold, but no. This is how he does it."
On the opposite wall, American/English artist Eric Gjerde created a 42-meter-long sheet of paper and used a tessellation design — employing a repeated pattern— to craft his "Dragon Helix." He estimated it took 19,000 folds to craft the 80-foot-long wall sculpture.
The exhibition also showcases the work of a few Oklahoma artists, including Zephyr Andrews, who used origami to depict the life cycle of a butterfly, and Jianlan You, a research assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma who folds miniscule cranes in her spare time.
"When she learned about the origami exhibit, she mentioned that that's one of her favorite hobbies, so that's how she came to be in the show," said Lindsay Thomas, the museum's communications director. "They're only 2 or 3 millimeters … but she doesn't even use tools. It's all by hand. Not even tweezers."
With the museum's hands-on focus, visitors will be able to try their hands at origami in the exhibit's "Origametria," which is drawn from an educational system developed by Miri Golan, an origami artist from Israel, where it is used in many schools to teach basic geometry, motor skills, sequential thinking and more.
"I love that origami is so approachable for everybody: all you need is a piece of paper … and your imagination," Thomas said. "There are simple folding patterns and if you really get into it, you can go further and further. I like the idea of being able to show that to both kids and adults, reminding them that they can be creative and be imaginative, too."
Several of Joel Cooper's elaborate folded masks are included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"Frog on a Leaf," by Bernard Peyton, is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]"Hidden Circles: In and Out of Focus" (2013) by Benjamin Parker is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]
ON VIEW
"Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami"
When: Through mid-January.
Where: Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place.
Information: www.sciencemuseumok.org/smart-space.
-BAM
Related Photos
Several of Joel Cooper's elaborate folded masks are included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]
<figure><img alt="Photo - Several of Joel Cooper's elaborate folded masks are included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-cc61912d6e31440592a644749ab00967.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Several of Joel Cooper's elaborate folded masks are included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-741118153ce3a8553d3f5c96557a5a20.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami," features a wide array of origami creations. [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Artist Eric Gjerde employed an estimated 19,000-plus folds and about a month's worth of time folding to create his 80-foot-long " dragon="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-f0452b9ba20f7e67b9f820e473eda840.jpg"><figcaption>Artist Eric Gjerde employed an estimated 19,000-plus folds and about a month's worth of time folding to create his 80-foot-long "Dragon Helix" on view in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - " boy="" riding="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-f32b7a9157ff86f285b5155e4c5c6a46.jpg" water=""><figcaption>"Boy Riding Water Buffalo" by Nguyen Hung Cuong, made of handmade paper and metal wire, is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - " src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-8783f48027b93bc76792678e4f6d609c.jpg"><figcaption>"8.8.4.B. Resch Tessellation" (2010) by Robert J. Lang is made from on one uncut sheet of elephant hide paper. Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-85933bbbd9cb573a1e702461bab26c94.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-8188389ec4b6f8a9fc8c8ac55bf27762.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-389836087db6ae36f5eb451b062187b0.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami" features several of fashion designer Adrienne Sack's "Fashionable Paper Hats." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - " master="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-6c0ab93d718165198c2ac17cf0aacebe.jpg"><figcaption>"Master Peace, double small" by Kevin and Jennifer Box is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Oklahoma City artist Zephyr Andrews' untitled piece is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-092673db304a9171b878f7760c8db7e2.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Oklahoma City artist Zephyr Andrews' untitled piece is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-528ecebc6ca0f1311babb6966f3b557c.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami," features a wide array of origami creations. [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - " src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-4025d8a931249f4b1d8eee111af7be72.jpg"><figcaption>"Fish," by Beth Johnson, is part of Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-8baa03cb16063a3fd3c22f4e1ff3630e.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Father-and-son origami innovators Martin and Erik Demaine collaborated on several curved-crease sculptures featured in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit " and="" art="" fold:="" into="" of="" science="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-e3a1a9823a28ec8160f0153bb803ac68.jpg" the=""><figcaption>Scott Henderson, director of Science Museum Oklahoma's smART Space galleries, adjusts lights in the museum's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img a="" alt="Photo - " frog="" on="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-275515826b374c3facb414641858611c.jpg"><figcaption>"Frog on a Leaf," by Bernard Peyton, is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure><figure><img alt="Photo - " and="" circles:="" hidden in="" of="" out="" src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-826b926a872cda0d3470c0727bfd7e56.jpg"><figcaption>"Hidden Circles: In and Out of Focus" (2013) by Benjamin Parker is included in Science Museum Oklahoma's new exhibit "Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami." [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman]</figcaption></figure>
Brandy McDonnell
Brandy McDonnell, also known by her initials BAM, writes stories and reviews on movies, music, the arts and other aspects of entertainment. She is NewsOK's top blogger: Her 4-year-old entertainment news blog, BAM's Blog, has notched more than 1... Read more ›
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