Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami

Based on a traveling art exhibition that opened in 2012 at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, this slim volume lives up to its subtitle: readers will indeed find nearly infinite possibilities in folded paper. More than 40 of the world’s leading origami artists are represented, with full-color photographs of works leaping off the page. Early on, Paulo Mulatinho’s Planta, an abstract riff on the familiar paper crane, faces off with Hieu Tran Trung’s Velociraptor Skeleton, a dinosaur skeleton shown on the recto page and made from over 70 sheets of uncut paper. The variety and breadth of the medium are amazingly clear. Animals (including a stunning ball variation on paper cranes), abstract forms, even a house, all dazzle and will inspire artists. The text of the book is mostly academic, but Lang’s essay on the math and physics of origami may intrigue some readers, especially when they are left gaping by the overwhelmingly complex, computer-generated “circle packing” he employs to create a grid for folding on paper. Readers are mostly here for the photos, and they are well worth the very reasonable price. (Aug.)