Wrapping The Past, Unfolding The Present and Creasing The Future: How Origami has established itself far more than just making paper models
Hundreds of years ago if you told someone that folding paper would one day inspire NASA scientists to design easily collapsible space shields that could protect space telescopes or that it could lead to a breakthrough in medicine by creating tiny robots in the shape of a pill, which could enter a human’s body and perform the necessary tasks, they would have probably (well almost certainly) laughed in your face! But here we are, in the present when those things have actually become a reality.
In this article, I want to talk about one of my favorite hobbies and a really fun way for me to pass my time, Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. I never thought I would be writing an article for this but just as Luke Skywalker did not know that Darth Vader was his father until his destiny made him fight Vader, similarly my destiny brought me here to write this article. I know I compared myself to Luke Skywalker but, let’s get back to the topic.
I have broken this article into 3 sections:
What is Origami?
A combination of the Japanese words oru (to fold) and kami (paper), origami is defined as the Japanese art of folding paper. Traditionally, origami uses a single sheet of paper (typically a square) and consists of folding it to create unique models without any involvement of any cuts, glue, or tape. Although origami traces its origin to Japan, it is also believed to have established its roots in China and Europe.
If we could credit one man who led to the introduction of origami to the world, it would have to be Grandmaster Akira Yoshizawa.
Having dedicated his life to this craft and making over 50,000 different models throughout his career, Yoshizawa paved the way for modern origami. The attention to detail, the delicacy of folding, and the level of perfection took Yoshizawa to a whole new level and set him apart from the rest.
It wasn’t only the structure of his models, but also the extraordinary way with which he folded them. Every single one of his models was instantly recognizable, with no two of them being alike.
He urged his pupils to fold animals in a way that could make them come alive. His own models had a character of their own. “Overall, I want you to discover the joy of creation by your own hand. … The possibility of creation from paper is infinite.”, truly some words of wisdom from Yoshizawa that I carved deep into my heart.
Origami In The Present
While still holding true to its definition of “no cuts and no use of glue or tape”, several new artists have emerged on the scene, bringing their own unique techniques and shaping origami into a new art form. Evolving from the traditional mountain and valley folds, diverse new types of folds such as the square-base, the water-bomb base, etc. have become the foundation of almost all kinds of different models we see today.
I think I can pretty much read your mind here. You are thinking, “wait a minute! Isn’t a valley fold just an inverted mountain fold ?!”, well guess what, you are absolutely correct. Even I myself have no idea as to why the "council of origami artists” decided to keep these two folds separately. But let’s try to ignore that fact.
Origami was and still is a great way for me to take a break from my monotonous day-to-day routine. Honestly, it is my means of escape from the frantic commotion and hub-hub of the modern world. Whenever I am doing origami, I feel as if I am playing piano, with my fingers trying to make the most delicate crease, folding the square sheet of paper in unusual forms to give it structure and construct a finished model. It echoes the scene from the movie Soul, where Joe Gardner plays the piano, following the rhythm from his heart with his eyes closed, and gets elated to a totally different world, unbeknownst to everyone else. Playing with paper almost feels as if I am dancing with a partner, whose moves only I can comprehend. It’s just one of those feelings that you get when you are able to finally solve an equation and are eager to run out on the streets and yell “Eureka!”. You want to be able to get more of those feelings!
Here’s a car model of the Bugatti Royale I folded back during the covid lockdown:
Moving on from models of animals, vehicles, human figures, and day-to-day objects, modern origami has broadened its horizon. Ever imagined what a 20-sided icosahedron would be like? Sure, you can render it on your computers with the help of 3D modeling software, but imagine would it would be like to bring it to life! Well, origami is here to make your wish come true!
But wait a minute, there’s much more! Artists have found ways to incorporate physics and mathematics with this art form to construct abstract figures and complex patterns, bringing a complicated hand-drawn sketch to life.
It is with the help of origami, that tessellations are brought to life. It is the technique to create complex, replicating patterns on a plane by folding a single sheet of paper. Isn’t this so aesthetically pleasing?
Also before you read about the future, here’s a Brachiosaurus skeleton that I folded back in 2021. Wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to show off my foldings!
The Road Ahead
The patterns you saw earlier are what inspired engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to construct a giant flower-shaped shade designed for use with space telescopes that could fold up during launch and then unfurl in space before being positioned in front of an orbiting space telescope to block starlight and permit safe and detailed observations of exoplanets.
NASA’s physicist-turned-origami artist and one of my favorite artists, Robert J. Lang, quit his job in 2001 to pursue origami full-time. He believes that by combining his mathematics with this art form, he is able to create something so unique, which he couldn’t have even thought of building before. Lang has written several books on origami models and design patterns. He went on to design a space shield, similar to the above illustration, and even an airbag that could fit in a very small space and unfurl to protect the passengers in the event of a casualty.
Well, that was certainly not the end! Researchers at MIT have been able to create an origami-inspired bot that folds up small enough to fit inside a pill, could be easily ingested, and perform surgical procedures without any hassles. Seems like a fantasy, but it is in fact, real!
As if those weren’t enough, origami has also influenced modern architecture. Kinetic sculptures have come into play, similar to this door, that not only ease the consumer’s life but also enhance the decor of your home.
These are just some of the fields that origami has inspired. The advancements in physics, mathematics, and even medicine, have had a profound impact on this art form. Fields such as biomedical engineering are looking up to origami to support their experiments and to witness the new inventions it can help bring to the world.
Conclusion
Origami has most certainly evolved from what it was before. It is an art that all age groups can engage in and have a great time doing.
We find certain nuances of it in our day-to-day lives. Even the screen cover for our iPads is inspired by origami. You can fold it in a way to help support your device while watching a video. Shutting down your laptop lid too is an example of how origami has found its way in the most trivial of things, as it allows the laptop to fold into a compact device, providing the user with ease to carry it around.