Mar

Brought Into the Fold of Robert Lang’s Origami

by Janine Boylan on March 17, 2014

Peace Flight origami sculpture, showing the creative process of Robert Lang (Image © Robert Lang)

Peace Flight
Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box
Folded 2013; Composed 2013
cast stainless steel on stone; approx. 3′ x 2′ x 4′ on stone
© Robert Lang

A Creative Process Governed by Math

Dr. Robert Lang can make paper cranes. But his origami cranes not only have feathered wings and three toes on each foot, they soar with life.

Origami artist Robert Lang engaged in his creative process. (Image © Robert Lang)

Origami artist Robert Lang
© Robert Lang

In 2001, this physicist/engineer left his successful science career to write a book about how to make your own designs for origami, the traditional Japanese art of folding paper.

Why the career change?

This obviously brilliant man, who has 50 patents awarded and pending on semiconductor lasers, optics, and integrated optoelectronics, had an “Oh, I see” moment:

There were plenty of other really good engineers and managers that could do whatever I could do as an engineer, but I felt like there were few people who could write this book.

So he took a risk, left his job, and decided to see where it would take him.

Millions of folds later, he has found that origami continues to take him beyond what he could have imagined.

Koi, opus 425, origami sculpture, showing the creative process of Robert Lang (© Robert Lang)

Koi, opus 425
Folded: 2002; Composed: 2002
One uncut square; 15″
© Robert Lang

Lang’s work has appeared worldwide in both ads and art shows.

He works in the more traditional smaller origami size as well as life-size. He even works in currency. While much of his work is made from some sort of paper, he has collaborated with sculptor Kevin Box to render a number of his pieces in metal.

Dollar Camera, origami sculpture showing the creative process of Robert Lang. (Image © Robert Lang)

Dollar Camera
Folded: 2009; Composed: 2009
Two uncut one-dollar bills; 3″
© Robert Lang

The Math

When he switched careers, Lang admits at first he was worried that giving up engineering would mean giving up the mathematical work he loved so much. But, he says:

The math of origami is as interesting as engineering ever had been. The itch [to work with math] gets scratched as much by origami as it ever did by physics.

To make an origami figure, Lang goes through four steps:

He starts with the subject.
Then, he draws a tree figure (like a stick figure) of the basic shape.
Next, he creates a folded-paper base with flaps for the appendages.
Finally, he forms the specific shape into the model.

Diagram of the four-step creative process of origami design. (Image © Robert Lang)

Four-step process for origami design
© Robert Lang

The tree figure and the final shape are the easy parts. Creating the base is the hard part. That’s where math comes in.

The math of origami is about shapes and relationships and forms, not necessarily arithmetic. The folding pattern to create a flap (or leg or antennae) is based on a circle pattern. The smaller the flap, the smaller the circle (a quarter circle is the smallest amount of paper you need to make a flap).

If you know how to “pack” these circles, which represent the body parts, and fill the remaining paper with a mathematical crease pattern, you have an origami pattern—and have solved another math challenge.

Stag Beetle BP, opus 477, origami showing the creative process of Robert Lang. (Image © Robert Lang)

Stag Beetle BP, opus 477
Folded: 2005; Composed: 2005
One uncut square of Origamido paper; 5″
© Robert Lang

Solving Puzzles

A passionate scientist, Lang sees every origami design as a puzzle to be solved, especially the ones he does for artistic purposes.

His deep plunge into understanding the math behind his work has helped him create figures one could never imagine would evolve from a single flat piece of paper. Lang explains:

What is possible in origami is defined by the mathematical properties of a folded sheet of paper; if you understand the math, you can use it to create a lot of forms that you probably wouldn’t have discovered just by intuition.

Sure, there are some challenging projects Lang has begun that are not done yet. And that’s how he sees it—they aren’t failures; they are just not done yet. He feels that nothing is impossible since he is always learning new techniques and approaches.

Siam origami sculpture, showing the creative process of Robert Lang (Image © Robert Lang)

Siam
by Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box
Folded: 2012; Composed: 2002
cast bronze, silver nitrate patina; 10″ x 8″ x 6″
Selby Fleetwood Gallery
© Robert Lang

What’s the Point?

Origami is wondrous, but it’s also useful. Lang explains:

Problems that you solve to create something beautiful turn out to have an application in the real world.

Scientists needed to get a football-field-sized lens into space, but it had to be carried on a spacecraft. What inspired their design? Origami.

Doctors had the idea of placing a stent in a human artery, but it had to be tiny to get to its destination. What inspired their design? Origami.

Squaring the Circle origami by Robert Lang, showing creative expression. (Image © Robert Lang)

Squaring the Circle, opus 596
Folded: 2009; Composed: 2006
One uncut irregular sheet of Japanese paper; 12″
© Robert Lang

Engineers wanted to put inflatable, expanding air bags in cars for emergencies. What inspired their design? You get the idea. . .

Sharing the Lessons

Lang seems to be as passionate about teaching origami technique as he is about creating the designs. A natural teacher, Lang makes the math behind folding circle patterns to create flaps simple and logical, as illustrated in this TEDtalk.

Why the interest in teaching? His response is a perfect reflection of his precise art: there is a satisfaction in delivering a well-crafted presentation.

But he also reflects,

Maybe it’s because when I discover something, the ah-ha moment is really fun—that moment when you’ve discovered something new is a rush. When I see it in someone else’s face, I am vicariously experiencing it by seeing it in them.

Oh, I see, Dr. Lang. And we at OIC couldn’t agree more!

Robert Lang provides folding patterns for a number of his pieces on his site. Get additional guidance from Origami Instructions and find free download patterns from Origami USA.

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Innovations/The World's Art & Design

Feb

Is Social Media Redefining Relationships?

by Janine Boylan on February 27, 2014

photo of Facebook friends, showing a social media relationship. (Image © Tanja Hollander)

Keliy Anderson Staley and Matt Williams
Russellville, Arkansas, 2013
met via Hampshire College
© Tanja Hollander

A Friend Is Someone
Who (Kinda) Knows You

Social media allows people to connect at any point of their lives, no matter when or how physically far, and no matter how well or how little we know one another.

New tools make it easy to share words, photos, or videos instantly with one person, with all of our connections, or even with the whole world.

But has social media really improved relationships?

Turns out that a lot of people, from researchers to artists, are exploring this question in fascinating projects.

Tanja Hollander’s Meet-Up Project

In 2011, Tanja Hollander starting thinking about all her Facebook friends. She asked herself, “Am I really friends with all these people?” She decided to take a road trip and visit them—all 626 of them—to find out.

She photographs each one at home and carefully logs her photographs on her site, Are You Really My Friend?

photo of Facebook friend, showing a social media relationship. (Image © Tanja Hollander)

Nate Larson
Baltimore, Maryland, 2012
met on email
© Tanja Hollander

Interestingly, Hollander hadn’t met some of these people in person before she started her project. Now, two years into the project, she’s seen and photographed about half of them.

Hollander shares her “Oh, I see” moments from the project so far:

“I have learned about human kindness and compassion. I continue to be surprised by the number of people, especially (the real life) total strangers, who have opened their homes to me—offering me a place to stay, sharing their lives, their stories, their food, and their families while allowing my camera to document it all.”

Hollander would probably argue that social media has changed her relationships—but that’s because she has pursued each friendship by meeting her virtual friends face-to-face.

The Geolocation Project

With mobile phones, it’s simple to post up-to-the-minute ideas and photos, connecting with friends at any time from anywhere.

Through their project Geolocation, photographers Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman are investigating where people are when they tweet. The photographers track the geographic tags on tweets to uncover the location and then photograph the setting. They post the photo with its tweet.

[Side note: Nate Larson is one of the friends Tanja Hollander photographed. See above.]

Location of a tweet about a boyfriend, illustrating how the use of social media is changing relationships. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Location for this tweet: “He dnt kno y im hurt but its all over his twitter!! Y do I still carry hope?”
© Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman

Unless specifically directed otherwise, tweets are broadcast to all of a writer’s followers. If a hashtag like #HowToKeepARelationshipWithMe is added to the tweet, anyone accessing the hashtag can also see the message. Surely relationships get redefined when multiple eyes are on the same message.

Larson, who wondered if the setting for a tweet mattered as much as the words, described the project to Wired this way:

“It’s all about exploring the consequences of how people are relating to each other differently.”

The photos from the Geolocation project showed that, unlike plots in great literature, setting often has little to do with friends’ virtual conversations in 140 characters or less.

But there are exceptions, like the hotel photo below, where the setting adds much more meaning to the tweet!

Location for the tweet: Tell me I'm not making a mistake. Tell me you're worth the wait. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Location for the tweet: “Tell me I’m not making a mistake. Tell me you’re worth the wait.” © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman

Through the Geolocation project, I discovered more about where people are when they interact with their friends, but I really wondered:

Did these writers ever share their ideas verbally with their friends or only virtually with the world?

Communication Studies Weigh In

Interesting research reveals different viewpoints about how social media is impacting friendship.

A University of Oxford study revealed that people maintain a small number of close friends with whom they focus their communication. No matter how many friends or followers you have on social media, the number of close friends you have remains constant.

In contrast, Jessica Vitak‘s study found that those who rely on Facebook for communication and those who live far from friends “not only see the site as a repository to store contacts, but as an interactive forum that improves the quality of relationships, and specifically benefits weaker and more distant ties.”

In her research on Facebook friendships, Bree McEwan found “the way we choose to communicate with our friends through this medium is what impacts the relationship.” People who post individual messages to friends promote stronger relationships, while those who post broadcast messages to their community tend to have shallower relationships with their online friends.

What Is Friendship?

All these projects make me wonder:

Has social media simply given a revised definition to the word friendship?

Is friendship just knowing someone from somewhere and at sometime?

Or, does friendship have to be a deeper relationship?

Shelby Sapusek, who specializes in social media strategies for businesses, argues:

“I believe that no friendship is real unless I have had the chance to meet the person.”

All this really got me thinking about friendship. It’s true that many of my social media friends are people I have some connection to, but rarely see or talk with one-on-one. Some I’ve never met. And I’m not sure that my relationships have improved due to social media, even if I know what my friends’ children and their dinners look like.

My “Oh, I see” moment: I’m still perfectly happy to call them all my friends.

Location of a tweet from someone who felt lonely, illustrating how social media is changing relationships. (Image © Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman)

Location for the tweet: “Sooooo can someone text me to keep me company?”
© Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman

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Clever Ideas

Jan

Peter Reynolds and The Dot Kickstart Creative Expression

by Janine Boylan on January 20, 2014

A heart painting created as part of Peter Reynold's International Dot Day started out with just the dot. (Image © Janine Boylan)

Make a Mark and See Where It Takes You

Peter Reynolds‘s goal is for each of us to have an “Oh, I see” moment about our creativity.

This award-winning children’s book author feels pretty strongly about the message in his book The Dot—that each person has creativity.

His slogan? “Make your mark and see where it takes you.”

In the book, a reluctant art student is convinced that she can’t draw. Her gentle art teacher encourages her, but, to illustrate her lack of talent, the girl just marks a dot on her page and signs her name. The next day, she is surprised to find the dot drawing hanging above her teacher’s desk. Inspired to do better, the girl creates a series of remarkable pieces and eventually inspires another reluctant student to discover his creative expression.

Any Day Is International Dot Day

Reynolds created International Dot Day as a way to officially celebrate each individual’s ability to make a mark in the world. The 2013 celebration boasted over one million participants in 84 countries. Many of these are children whose teachers and administrators believe in the power of creativity.

Although International Dot Day officially started on September 15 to coincide with the original publishing date of the book, Reynolds explains that Dot Day can really happen in a moment, over a week, within a month, or throughout a year.

Carmel, California, exhibited art from Dot Day this month. In preparation, children from the local elementary school read the story and then were given a blank sheet of paper to create a dot . . . and see where it would take them.

Peter Reynolds encourages students to begin with a mark and use their creative expression to turn the dot into a composition for International Dot Day. (Image © Janine Boylan)

Creative Expression Flows from Just One Dot

The results were wonderfully varied and all wonderful.

Some children made a simple mark on a page, just as the story protagonist had first done—almost a promise that something more would come.

The dot inside a picture frame starts a work of creative expression for International Dot Day. (Image © Janine Boylan)

Other children started with a dot and then expanded their ideas to create elaborate scenes. Looking at each one, I marveled at where a single dot could go.

Like Reynolds, this artist has a message to convey! Also, I appreciate her consideration to the viewer—she added helpful labels to some of the details so there is no question what her art shows.

International Dot Day composition from a child artist began with the dot and grew into a work of creative expression. (Image © Janine Boylan)

One intriguing element of art is perspective. The artist of the piece below on the left made the decision to show a different perspective—upside down. The text in the orange dot even has a different meaning depending on which way you look at it.

Compositions created from unusual perspectives for Peter Reynold's International Dot Day began with the dot and blossomed into creative expression. (Image © Janine Boylan)

And some students seemed to find inspiration from one another. I can imagine the conversation of these two artists, who had the creative idea of using dots to create art:

I’m going to draw a sun with rays.

Me, too. Can I use the gold pen after you?

I’m going to make a rainbow-colored horse.

Hmm. I’m going to do something different . . .

Matching drawings created for Peter Reynold's International Dot Day both began with just the dot and grew into works of creative expression. (Image © Janine Boylan)

A Whole Different Kind of Dot

At the same time, another local school embraced the same project with very different results. They created a single dot, composed of rainbow-colored plastic, as a tribute both to their teacher Iris (the goddess of the rainbow) and to their school’s commitment to keeping plastic out of the ocean.

The rainbow dot, made from smaller, colorful dots of found plastic for Peter Reynolds' International Dot Day. (Image © Janine Boylan)

A sign under the rainbow dot proclaimed:

Imagine the power and potential of a million people around the world, connecting, collaborating, creating, and celebrating all that creativity inspires and invites.

I think Peter Reynolds would say that the resulting creative expression would be pretty perfect.

More than a Token of Creativity

With the masterpieces displayed in the city’s cultural art center, the same venue where world-famous musicians and actors perform, Peter Reynolds asked all the students and adult artists in attendance to raise their hands.

Every child’s hand shot up immediately.

Reynolds waited expectantly for the adults to realize that they, too, are all capable of marvelous creative expression as well. My hand timidly rose with the rest of the audience’s.

As a wooden token was pressed into my palm that ensured my lifetime membership in the Dot Club, I reached my own “Oh, I see” moment: I can make my mark at any time, at any age. It’s never too late!

Dot Club token, given by Peter Reynolds, author of The Dot, to inspire creative expression in people. (Image © Janine Boylan)

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan 3 Comments

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Brought Into the Fold of Robert Lang’s Origami